Kansas City Council directs city manager to develop housing needs plan within 6 months
The Kansas City Council is directing City Manager Brian Platt to develop a strategic plan and a community needs assessment over the coming months to address housing insecurity and homelessness.
In a pair of resolutions passed Thursday, Platt is tasked with finishing an assessment of the ways taxpayer dollars are currently being spent on service providers within 120 days. The study is meant to inform a strategic plan — due in about six months — for addressing needs of those experiencing homelessness, including prevention and intervention.
The resolutions were introduced by Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, 5th District, chairwoman of Mayor Quinton Lucas’s task force on homelessness. Ahead of the vote, she described the needs assessment as an opportunity to examine the problems facing those in Kansas City without secure housing.
“The community needs assessment will be a comprehensive review, talking with the different service providers and other stakeholders to truly see where those needs are in the community,” she said.
The resolutions passed the City Council without opposition.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat's the story?
There are an estimated 70-plus homeless encampments across the Kansas City metro area, and some 2,000 people living without a house. For months during winter 2020 two Kansas City encampments — on the lawn of City Hall and on a patch of grass in the middle of one of the city’s busiest intersections — cropped up as defiant signs of protest to a city that homeless leaders felt didn’t want to see them. From those protests, and the death of a houseless man in the depths of winter, the KC Homeless Union was born. Through that union, homeless people in Kansas City have been pushing a list of demands: homes, jobs, water and a seat at the table where decisions are being made. Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
What solutions are in the works?
The Kansas City Homeless Union has said it wants homes, jobs, water and a seat at the table where decisions are made. In the past year, Kansas City has invested $8.5 million in city funds and in COVID relief funding into addressing homelessness and housing insecurity in light of the pandemic. Here is the full list of initiatives by the city in the past year.
- Creation of the Houseless Task Force: The task force, the first of its kind in Kansas City, was established by the city council in January with the hopes of developing long-term policies and solutions related to homelessness.
- Strategic plan and community needs assessment: The city council in late August voted to direct City Manager Brian Platt to finish an assessment of the ways taxpayer dollars are currently being spent on service providers. The study is meant to inform a strategic plan — due about six months later — for addressing needs of those experiencing homelessness, including prevention and intervention.
- Tiny home village: In the plan’s first phase, the city hopes to provide at least 140 beds across 65 “pallet homes.” The transitional housing village would include on-site social services, health care and caseworkers available at any time of the day.
- The Land Bank of KCMO: The land bank is selling 111 vacant and abandoned homes for $1. These buildings are being sold to organizations that will then renovate them and rent living spaces out to people either in the lowest income brackets or who are experiencing houselessness.
- More housing: The city is working with private developers to create more affordable units in new developments. The city also created an affordable housing trust fund and a standalone housing department to focus on tenants, the unhoused and affordable housing. Maggie Green, media relations manager for the city, said the city is also hoping to repurpose unused facilities, such as hotels, into housing for those who are unsheltered.
- Vision for Housing Plan: The city is asking for community feedback on the 38-page plan.
On Wednesday, during a committee hearing on the topic, Parks-Shaw said the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food and housing issues “and families are still struggling to make ends meet.” She said the city’s systems and social service providers are still adjusting to an increased demand.
Of the strategic plan to be developed, Parks-Shaw said she envisions one “that will be inclusive of the stakeholders and social service providers that are really helping the community.”
“Unfortunately that is something that has been missed,” she said.
Jennifer Tidwell, manager of the city’s community housing and development division, added that “this will not only be a strategic plan, but an implementation plan where we actually give the approaches that we’re going to use to solve some of these problems.”
Housing issues have become a major conversation in City Hall in recent months as an estimated 2,000 people are thought to be living on the street in Kansas City.
Some homeless residents have banded together to bring greater attention to the issue in city government. Over the summer, an encampment and demonstration stood on City Hall’s south lawn for months, prompting city leaders to offer temporary housing in local hotels.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 6:34 PM.
