|
Our Vision:
The Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition links with State and Federal agencies, organizations, and individuals to garner and provide support toward effectively addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness.
The Kansas Coalition respects the choices made by the individuals being served, and builds on their strengths to assist them in moving toward their goals of independence and full citizenship.
Our Mission: To end homelessness in the State of Kansas
Guiding Principles:
The Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition's Mission and Vision Statements guide the activities of this organization.
We encourage individuals who are experiencing homelessness, those formerly homeless, and those concerned with the homeless to join our efforts.
We are a diverse group, representing government agencies, homeless individuals, service providers and homeless advocates.
We act as a unifying voice to influence policies and legislation to help assure the fair and equitable treatment of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
HISTORY
In 1999, a small group of people representing State and Federal government agencies and local non-profits met to discuss bringing the issue of homelessness to the forefront statewide. The group concluded that the best way to increase awareness of homelessness and the many sources needed to alleviate the homeless epidemic was to hold a statewide conference. The first Kansas Statewide Homeless Summit was held in March 2001in Salina, KS. Over 100 people attended and the keynote speaker was Michael Stoops from the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, DC. Over the next year, the group expanded by adding several other homeless service providers from across Kansas to the Coalition and together they planned and held the second Statewide Homeless Summit in Salina, KS in November 2001.
In 2001, a Board of Directors was created and KSHC incorporated as a 501 (c)(3) organization. The Board of Directors voted to continue the Statewide Homeless Summits but to hold them in different cities each year. The third Summit was held in Wichita, the fourth in Topeka, the fifth in Lawrence and the sixth in Hutchinson. Each year the number of attendees has grown and the Coalition has been successful in securing national speakers, such as Phillip Mangano, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; Tanya Tull, Executive Director of Beyond Shelter and co-founder of the Housing First Model; Mark Johnson, Director of Special Needs Programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Steve Berg the vice president for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The Statewide Homeless Summits have been the major education and training thrust for homeless service providers throughout Kansas.
Two of the founding tenets of KSHC are to (1) serve as an organizing entity for homeless service providers from across Kansas and (2) help end homelessness in Kansas in the next ten years. KSHC brings together a variety of federal, state, county and local agencies, faith-based organizations, and advocates that serve people who are homeless throughout Kansas. KSHC strives to disseminate information regarding homelessness to community members throughout the state. In addition, the Coalition lobbies for improved housing and support service options at the state and local levels.
KSHC has sought to educate essential local, county and state government employees about the needs of individuals who are at risk of and who are experiencing homelessness. As an indicator of their success, KSHC has received proclamations from mayors in four major cities and the County Commission of Sedgwick County (the State’s most densely populated county).
In 2003, the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition expanded its role and took the lead in coordinating the Kansas Balance of State Continuum of Care. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires states and local communities to establish a Continuum of Care (CoC) planning strategy in order to apply for Homeless Assistance Funds. Kansas has five urban jurisdictions each of which has planning groups that have successfully secured several hundreds of thousand of dollars to assist the homeless under the CoC process. However, 100 rural counties have not participated in the process. In 2003-2004, KSHC took the lead and developed the planning strategy, coordinated information, garnered support from all 100 counties, reviewed project applications and submitted four applications for funding for the Rural Continuum of Care. The 2004 application was awarded over $2,000,000 in Homeless Assistance Funds for four projects in rural Kansas. In 2005, once again, the Rural Continuum of Care proposal was awarded funding for three projects.
In July 2004, Kansas Housing Resources Corporation recognized the contribution KSHC has made in Kansas and awarded KSHC $25,000; $5,000 for the 2004 Homeless Summit and $20,000 to hire a part-time Rural CoC Coordinator. The Rural CoC Coordinator will work with rural communities to develop local task forces/coalitions who will be responsible for developing plans to end homelessness and to participate in the Rural CoC planning process. This person will write the Rural CoC and offer technical assistance to applicants.
Finally, in December 2004, Social Rehabilitation Services-Mental Health (SRS-MH) and KSHC formed a formal partnership by entering into a contract in which SRS-MH matched Kansas Housing Resources Corporation’s funding. KSHC will be hiring a full-time employee to coordinate the Rural Continuum of Care process, seek additional funding to increase the capacity of KSHC, and provide administrative support.
| 
