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 and focused case management for McKinney'Vento students and families), Shelter Plus Care (a grant'funded supportive housing program for chronically homeless individuals with severe behavioral health needs), the HEARTH Emergency Solutions Grant (HESG) used for rapid rehousing, prevention and emergency shelter, a KDADS'funded boundary'spanner position to help people transition from nursing facilities, and competitive social service grants distributed to local agencies.

Presenters said the city has invested in data and systems work for Built for Zero, including a KDADS grant that funds migration to the Clarity homeless management information system used statewide. Staff said the Clarity rollout is under way and that once the system goes live the city will intensify data collection and case conferencing work tied to Built for Zero targets. A multijurisdictional Built for Zero summit is scheduled in Topeka in mid'April.

Staff also recapped the most recent point'in'time counts and trends: presenters said the total individuals counted in the most recent snapshot was 534 and that the number of unsheltered people has decreased while transitional housing and emergency shelter placements have increased. Staff highlighted that Cornerstone and other partners had added transitional units (presentation cited an increase from 58 transitional placements in January 2024 to 75 in July 2024, with further increases into 2025).

The presentation included operational details: the city said it has lengthened notices before encampment cleanups from 14 days to 30 days, deploys outreach and intake at warming centers (staff on site two to three hours per day), and conducts fire, safety and zoning reviews for temporary warming center locations. Staff cautioned that some federal grants (HUD, HESG, Shelter Plus Care and CDBG/HOME programs) represent a major share of funding and that changes to federal grant availability increase fiscal risk.

Committee members raised programmatic questions: how long people remain stably housed after a voucher or placement, whether some encampments could be engaged earlier to prevent growth, and whether private and corporate partners could be better leveraged for long'term funding. The idea of a "Topeka First" policy (a practice discussed in other Kansas jurisdictions to reconnect people to support networks in their home communities) was raised as a policy consideration; staff noted the example of Douglas County/Lawrence but did not recommend specific action.

City manager and housing staff said they did not expect formal decisions from the committee at this meeting but asked for member feedback to strengthen the presentation to the full governing body; multiple members agreed staff should submit the material to the governing body and provide additional detail on funding and program outcomes ahead of a council discussion.

The committee signaled it wants more outcome'focused, plain'language material for public sharing and asked staff to highlight Built for Zero progress, how many housing units the city'funding produced or leased, and the mix of permanent nonprofit'owned units versus landlord voucher placements. Staff said a consolidated plan amendment and a HUD funding presentation are scheduled before the governing body on April 1 (discussion) and April 8 (action) and recommended that the committee'level briefing to council wait until after the Built for Zero summit and the HUD consolidated plan submittal so the presentation reflects the most current data.

Committee members who spoke publicly at the meeting complimented staff work while continuing to press for clearer metrics and financial context. No formal motions or votes on homeless policy were made at the committee meeting; staff were asked to forward the presentation and supporting materials to the full governing body and to continue refining outcome metrics for future briefings.

Ending: Staff said they will return materials or answer follow'up questions as requested; committee members agreed they would forward any questions through staff rather than use additional committee meeting time immediately, given staff workloads and pending April deadlines.