unhoused

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.

The founder of Operation 1020 says the 30 beds the shelter is currently allowed by the city of Lenexa are simply not enough to meet the growing demand they are facing each day. She hopes a permanent shelter will eventually become a reality.

Independence, Missouri, is beautifying the city through the work of individuals facing housing instability. Independence T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R., a supported employment program, offers an array of support, including an hourly wage, housing fund and meals, for individuals willing to work along Independence roadways.

St. Louis earmarked millions from the American Rescue Plan Act for homeless services. But after two deep freezes in as many years, the city is just now planning to open a 24/7 "safe haven" shelter for those without housing.

With a fraction of millions of American Rescue Plan Act dollars allocated or spent, the city and groups serving the homeless face each other across a divide of paperwork and procedures.