Kansas City mayor unveils latest efforts to tackle homelessness with grants, winter shelters

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas stood in front of the new ‘American Dream’ mural at Hope Faith, a nonprofit homeless assistance organization, Tuesday afternoon to unveil the city’s plans for their third annual winter low-barrier shelters, and to speak on their new grant applications as part of the Zero KC initiative.

“This has been a priority for my administration, during my nine and a half years of service with the city, that we make sure communities experiencing homelessness and communities that are problem solving with us are here working together to implement effective and compassionate solutions to Kansas City’s unhoused crisis,” Lucas said.

The seasonal low-barrier shelters, which have been in place in the winter months for the last few years, will provide up to 400 beds across eight locations in the metro from December through March.

The number of available beds will vary depending on outside temperatures. On nights where temperatures are above 26 degrees, 245 beds will be available. When temperatures fall between 1 and 25 degrees, 55 beds will be added, and an additional 100 will be added when temperatures sink to zero or below.

Councilman Johnathan Duncan emphasized the importance of the effort, saying, “...This is just the first of many steps that we will continue to take to address our houseless issue.”

As necessary as winter low-barrier shelters are — they are temporary.

In January, a proposal for funding for a permanent low-barrier shelter through Hope Faith Ministries was accepted, and Mayor Quinton Lucas introduced the ordinance. But in April, the city council scrapped the plan, in part because of resistance from neighbors near the proposed site in the historic northeast area of Kansas City. Negotiations re-started in August, and officials say they are moving quickly, according to previous Star reporting.

Grants for overnight shelters, essential homeless services

To increase aid to organizations providing assistance to the city’s unhoused population, the city opened grant applications Oct. 18 as part of Zero KC, the city’s initiative, first introduced in September 2022, which aims to reach “functional zero,” where homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring.

The grant program hopes to expand providers’ capacity to offer overnight shelters and other essential services to ensure “absolutely no one falls through the cracks,” Lucas said.

Funds for the grant come from the city’s general fund and the housing trust fund, which has about $75 million, according to Lucas. While they don’t expect to spend all of that money, the city invites organizations to be ambitious with their proposals.

“We want to hear from the parties first in terms of what they’re looking for, what they’re working on and really what gap-filling exists,” Lucas said. “We’re not looking to necessarily build a brand new organization out of this, what we’re looking to do is to make sure that those who are trying to stay operational and open are able to do so.”

The grant application deadline is Nov. 17, and will have to be approved by the city council. Lucas hopes to begin rolling out funds by early December.

“We invite agencies, nonprofits, and other service providers to apply for these grants, regardless of their circumstances, so that all can have access to safe and dignified shelter,” he said. “In particular, we’re looking for proposals that aim to do the following: expand specialized services including having housing for those with mental health needs, substance use disorders, LGBTQ+ individuals and others with low-barrier access requirements.”

Lucas and other officials said there will be a future expansion of year-round shelter beds available for additional shelters besides the one receiving the Housing and Urban Development grant —which as of now is Hope Faith Ministries— and that they are extending the contracting process with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and three operators; Hope Faith, Care Beyond the Boulevard and ReStart, as well as expanding outreach with the help of the police department.

Knocking down barriers for people trying to get aid is the goal, and Lucas hopes the more voices involved, the easier it will be to close those gaps.

“We want to promote innovation and how services are delivered, making it easier for people to access the help they need without unnecessary obstacles,” he said. “Most importantly, we want to foster collaboration across agencies. It is not one group versus another. It is not one idea or one entity versus another. It is all of us working together to come to solutions.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 5:32 PM.