Quinton Lucas: What Kansas City is doing to house our neighbors with no place to live

Any number of people living unhoused in Kansas City is too many. One thousand, four hundred and twenty-five unhoused Kansas Citians is far too many.

Over the past year, the City Council and I have revamped our system for preventing and ending houselessness, setting an example for our suburbs and beyond. We established the Mayor’s Unhoused Task Force, led by Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, to drive long-term policymaking; created the Housing and Community Development Department, which will include a Houseless Assistance Coordinator; and authorized the Housing Trust Fund to ensure we have millions to respond to our housing crisis and create more affordable housing opportunities.

We made improvements, but we also responded to acute emergencies in 2021. We opened warming centers such as the one at Bartle Hall, administered $16 million in emergency rental assistance, improved service coordination with our shelter bed availability dashboard and Extreme Weather Plan, and housed nearly 400 of our neighbors in hotels that were connected with onsite social services as they worked to get back on their feet.

But we know there are still too many tragedies befalling our sisters and brothers on the streets. As a mayor for all Kansas Citians, I make it a priority to spend time with our unhoused neighbors. I have seen the impossible choices people must make to navigate our current system. During last winter’s storms while visiting the Scott Eicke Warming Center, I talked with a woman who needed to get to a daytime shelter but didn’t have the means to get there. I drove her where she needed to go and, on the way, we talked about the difficulties of finding a job, securing nourishing food and accessing a stable place to live. Conversations like this propel me as we fight to finally end houselessness.

Already in 2022, we are doing more to improve immediate response efforts, provide more wraparound support services and expand our housing supply.

When any community members face health and safety risks, we must respond quickly and thoughtfully — in ways that provide choice, build trust and respect each person’s property. To that end, we are revising our policy for enforcement and removal of encampments on city property, based on the guidance of the Unhoused Task Force. In 2022, we will also administer an additional $25 million in emergency rental assistance and implement the new Tenants’ Right to Counsel program to prevent unnecessary evictions and displacement.

Any successful emergency response must also lead to long-term support, including mental and physical health care, jobs and access to education. That is why Kansas City is proud to participate in the White House’s House America partnership, helping us to serve more than 2,000 Kansas City households with expanded access to wraparound services and increased permanent housing options in 2022. We will also reduce long-term barriers to employment and housing access, such as substance abuse and involvement with the criminal legal system.

So long as Kansas Citians are priced out of our housing market, too many families will continue to face housing insecurity and houselessness. With the new Housing Trust Fund, we will invest more in housing development that includes real affordability. We will pair that investment with efforts to enable more community-led housing development, including streamlining and expediting development review. We will also release more city-owned property for redevelopment, encouraging new land trust programming and mixed income communities, to expand housing options.

We have a once-in-a generation opportunity to change our community for good by ending houselessness. A roof over someone’s head means less crime. It means students are more likely to show up to school — and to participate while they’re there. It means happier, healthier, safer neighborhoods.

We will not settle for the status quo in Kansas City. It’s neither humane nor sustainable. But we cannot do this alone. We need our regional partners to join us and we will continue engaging all to be part of the solution. Let’s make 2022 the year we ensure housing for all.