Wichita to apply for HUD Continuum of Care funds to expand supportive housing and street outreach

The City of Wichita authorized submission of HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) applications on July 12 to fund two projects: a renewal of the Housing Evolution permanent-supportive housing program and a new housing-focused street outreach project.

Steve Seabert (speaker 25) of the Department of Housing and Community Services said Housing Evolution provides permanent supportive housing and intensive case management for chronically homeless individuals; the total program budget was presented as $1,346,226 with the city and partners covering portions of match and operations. The program currently supports about 130 beds and has high retention rates in the city'supplied statistics.

The new street-outreach project would fund three multidisciplinary outreach teams, six housing-stabilization caseworkers and one employment specialist. Seabert said the CoC request for the outreach project is about $1,257,830 and would be matched with internal liquor-tax and community-services block grant dollars; it aims to provide housing-focused engagement, transport and connections to treatment and employment so participants can move into permanent housing.

Seabert and council members described the outreach model as a "Clutch"/Housing-First approach that pairs outreach with case management and emphasizes housing placement while coordinating with Wichita Police Department, Parks & Rec and social-service providers. The council approved submission of the city's FY2026 CoC application 7-0; Seabert said housing-evolution renewals likely fall into tier 1 (non-competitive renewals) while housing-focused outreach may be subject to national competition (tier 2).