unhoused

People who are unhoused face unique challenges when it comes to voting. How are people in Kansas City navigating those hurdles, and how are local organizations helping them register and get to the polls?

The City Union Mission downtown turns a century old this month. The CEO and executive director told KCUR's Up To Date how the city's oldest homeless shelter has adapted to meet the modern day needs of unhoused people.

After drawn-out debate, the city will allocate federal funding to Hope Faith in the northeast to set up more shelter beds that will accept any person regardless of their race, gender, religious beliefs or condition.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that cities can punish people for sleeping in public areas, and while Kansas City does not have a “no camping” ordinance in place, some residents fear the decision could spark local backlash against homeless people.

Three years after federal aid was earmarked to ensure homeless students get an education, millions of dollars remain unspent in the Midwest and around the country. In September, what’s left of the one-time funding will be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

A bill in the Kansas Legislature would have provided millions of dollars to build homeless shelters across the state. But lawmakers let the bill stall in committee and left Topeka for the year without taking any meaningful action to address the growing problem.

Unhoused residents in Kansas City are at risk due to the extreme heat sweeping across the region. Street outreach teams from local nonprofit reStart are working to provide emergency supplies and shelter from the heat.

The Supreme Court of the United States will decide this summer if unhoused people can be fined or arrested for sleeping outside. Local government officials, including some in Kansas City, say enforcement of encampments is needed to address the crisis. But advocates say criminalization is a waste of resources.

Stories For All, a digital storytelling project run by the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas, is celebrating the end of its current funding period with a festival spotlighting work from its more than 40 community partners.

Across greater Kansas City, at least 3,000 people live at least part-time on the streets. This January, trench foot, frostbite and COVID-19 are surging.

Each winter for nearly four years, Monique Litchman and Jeffrey Dungan each navigated life in Kansas City without a place to call home. At times, refuge was a homeless shelter, but sometimes, they stayed outside in the dangerously cold elements.

Some unhoused Kansas Citians spent the last few nights sleeping outside in sub-zero temperatures. Finding a warm bed wasn't necessarily the problem — they know how to survive in the worst of the Kansas City winter and they don’t like homeless shelters.