Wyandotte County commissioners vote to open emergency shelter after mayor’s objections
Following backlash from community members and housing advocates, officials in Kansas City, Kansas, approved a resolution of support to open a warming center for the homeless as fiercely cold temperatures are predicted to arrive in the area.
By a vote of 9-0, commissioners with the Unified Government approved the resolution during a special meeting called Thursday afternoon to discuss the proposal of continuing a warming center on cold days at the former Jack Reardon Convention Center. It is scheduled to remain open until late April.
The public display of support comes after social service providers were abruptly notified earlier this week that the county had pulled the plug on the program. The notification cast doubt over the immediate future of the program as the first true cold days approach the region.
At the center of the short-lived controversy was newly elected Mayor Tyrone Garner. Social service providers claimed the project was pushed off course based mostly on the mayor’s objections during an earlier meeting.
Before the vote Thursday, Garner publicly stated that there has been “misinformation” swirling about his intentions regarding the plan. He supported the resolution for the temporary housing situation, saying the actions he took were never meant to prevent people from being housed during harsh winter conditions.
“Let me make it clear to the public: I ran on providing leadership,” Garner said. “Part of that leadership is making sure that we take care of our Wyandotte County residents, and that includes our unhoused population. And part of my role as mayor is that I have to get all the facts.”
Still, the mayor said he continues to have questions regarding aspects of the plan. He and other commissioners agreed there has been a lack of communication between elected leaders and UG administration regarding the program.
Commissioner Andrew Davis, 8th District, pledged to support the warming center this year, noting that there was no alternative plan to follow without leaving some people out in the cold. But he called the confusion an embarrassment for UG leaders.
“It’s not OK, this is not normal, and I hope that we can do better. And I hope that you, our constituents of Wyandotte County, will expect better from us. This is embarrassing. I am deeply upset, and we have to do better,” Davis said.
Regardless of the blessing by government leaders, the nonprofit leaders running the center this winter announced earlier Thursday that the program would move forward as planned. The organizations had already signed a contract with the county to use the space this winter, Susila Jones, executive director with Cross-Lines Community Outreach, said in a statement Thursday morning.
The announcement came as a major winter storm is taking aim on Kansas City, bringing between 3 and 6 inches of snow and bitter cold temperatures — the coldest since the intense cold snap of February 2021.
The emergency shelter will be set up at the former Jack Reardon Center at Fifth Street and Minnesota Avenue. Social service providers plan to keep the warming center on nights when the temperature is predicted to fall below 25 degrees. Guests are to be provided with meals, COVID-19 tests and other resources aimed toward helping them find a more permanent home.
The Extreme Weather Project, a partnership between local service providers led by Cross-Lines and the Unified Government, is contracted to host a maximum of 35 adults. The project is targeted for adults who are experiencing homelessness in the county.
News that the program might not move forward caused an immediate stir among some in the community. On Thursday afternoon, about 15 people gathered on the steps of City Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, many taking aim at Garner.
“We knew there were opposing views,” said Yasmin Bruno-Valdez, 20, a staff member for the emergency shelter, adding: “I canvassed for Garner and was pushing for him. This feels like a stab in the back.”
Bruno-Valdez said neighbors in the Strawberry Hill area had concerns about the shelter’s presence. But she did not expect the mayor to cancel the opening.
Charles Carney, a retired case manager for people without housing at the Wyandotte Center, said he was relying on the shelter to help the people he and his wife could not take in. The pair recently brought four people without housing into their home to live temporarily until the emergency shelter opened.
“We really got the rug pulled out from under us,” he said. “I feel betrayed.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 12:36 PM.
