Local leaders propose ‘City at Home’ task force to coordinate homelessness response

A group of local leaders urged Wichita County Commissioners on July 22 to form a joint county–city task force to coordinate a communitywide response to rising unsheltered homelessness.

The presenters, physician Louis Wilson and community organizer Steve Sparks, described a yearlong series of summits that produced an action plan, “City at Home,” that they said organizes stakeholders and identifies gaps such as short-term medical respite, neighborhood-based case management and improved information sharing.

“We have a mission: homelessness with durable and sustainable responses. And our motto, a city at home,” Wilson said, describing three solution summits that led to six action groups to tackle business engagement, education and communications, continuum-of-care innovations, information sharing, boots-on-the-ground recruitment and a mission statement.

Why it matters: Speakers said unsheltered homelessness has increased markedly in Wichita County over the past four years and mirrors national trends. They argued that a cross-jurisdictional, empowered task force could move faster than traditional government processes and coordinate city, county, police, parks, health-care and nonprofit resources.

Key elements and gaps identified in the presentation included neighborhood and street-level case management, expanded support for emergency shelters (including services for women and minor children), medical respite for people discharged from hospitals, and innovations to speed circulation of scarce permanent supportive housing vouchers.

Steve Sparks, who led the community organizing effort, said the group plans another summit Sept. 18 and that some members, including Faith Mission partners, will travel Aug. 13 to evaluate a medical-respite unit in Knoxville. “We would ask is for the county and the city to come together in an official capacity, leveraging your official positions to create a task force or commission to help these — the action plan is all doable,” Sparks said.

Sparks and Wilson emphasized both enforcement and support. Wilson said efforts should include enforcing local ordinances while expanding health, mental health and addiction services to make people “housing ready” before permanent placements. “Taking people that are not housing ready, getting them housing ready through health care, through mental health, through addiction recovery,” Wilson said.

City Council member Austin Cobb, speaking for himself, pledged support from the city side and called the action plan practical. “Everything on there is doable, guys,” Cobb said. He said he plans to support a similar city task-force item on the council agenda.

Discussion included questions about shelter capacity and transitions after jail release. Presenters and other speakers said some emergency shelters are not at capacity but that specific populations — women with children and people needing short-term…