Topeka committee reviews city'led homeless strategy, funding and data work ahead of council briefing

The Public Health and Safety Committee on Wednesday heard a presentation from city staff outlining Topeka's homelessness spending, programs for unsheltered people and data work tied to the Built for Zero effort, and members agreed the material should be forwarded to the full governing body for broader review.

City staff presented a three'year snapshot showing roughly $8,200,000 spent on homelessness initiatives between 2022 and 2024, with about $2,800,000 spent in 2024 alone; staff also reported roughly $14,000,000 invested in housing'stability and rehab programs over the same three'year window, about $3,700,000 in 2024, and $1,800,000 of that amount identified as general fund support (the presentation also mentioned ‘‘1.7 of that is the dreams program,'').

Committee members said the data helped show the breadth of city activity but pressed staff for clearer outcomes and financial context before the governing body takes action. Councilmember Christina Valdivia Alcala and Deputy Mayor Brook Hill, among others, said decisions about formal policy should be taken by the full governing body because of the issue's scope and public interest.

Staff described current programs that serve unsheltered people: Equity Access Shelter (a single point of access and triage for rental and mortgage assistance), Impact Avenues (a collective'impact partnership involving more than 41 agencies…