Homeless Program (Center City)

Sedgwick County > Human Services > COMCARE > Homeless Program

154 N. Topeka, Wichita, KS 67202
316-660-7800
316-264-5425 (Fax)
Ann Elifrits, MS,, LCP, project manager

COMCARE’s Homeless Program—also known as Center City (CC)-was established in 1988 and serves individuals who have a serious mental illness and who live in places not considered adequate shelter, such as cars or abandoned buildings, and those who are receiving help through emergency shelters.

As a licensed community mental health center and a program component of Community Support Services, Center City staff provides comprehensive mental health services, including psychiatric care, individual and group psychotherapy, mental illness/chemical addiction counseling, employment support, peer support and intensive case management. The objective of the psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, therapists, specialists, and case managers is to stabilize consumers’ mental health status and daily living needs with an emphasis on housing and employment.

Assertive outreach is an important component of the program. The Homeless Program’s Outreach Team goes onto the streets, under bridges, and into the shelters to assess mental health needs. The Homeless Program uses a “No Wrong Door” approach to link homeless individuals to community services. The Homeless Program incorporated a peer support provider position to the outreach team who brings lived experience of both homelessness and mental illness to this critical service.

Approximately 1,259 individuals were outreached in 2010 and connected to community resources. The 164 individuals that met program criteria received a range of mental health services including: assertive outreach, case management, therapy, medication management, addiction counseling, support accessing employment and housing resources through COMCARE’s Homeless Program. The age range of adults in services is 18 to 81. Program participants reported on average they had their first incident of homelessness at age 40. Consumer education levels range from fourth grade education to a master’s degree, with an average of 12 years of education.

COMCARE’s Homeless Program began participating in a “Housing First” pilot program for seven chronically homeless individuals in 2008. Housing First is an approach to ending homelessness that centers on providing homeless people with apartments quickly and then offering mainstream services. Through the Task Force to End Chronic Homelessness Plan, the County and the City committed resources to provide housing for 64 chronically homeless individuals in 2009. COMCARE’s Homeless Program continues to provide mental health services to support these individuals in Housing First.

COMCARE’s Homeless Program implemented the Dual Diagnosis Transitional Housing Project under a federal Housing and Urban Development grant in August 2003. Serving 20 adults who meet program criteria for up to 2 years, COMCARE provides consumers single or family accommodations with housing and services. COMCARE also partners with Episcopal Social Services who provide payee services to help consumers learn budgeting. COMCARE Homeless Program maintains an office amid these apartments providing easy access to integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment while living in the community. Four apartments with supportive services are specifically designated to serve chronic homeless individuals.

Social and Rehabilitation Services has estimated that when mental health services are not available, it costs the community approximately $40,000 per year for each homeless person (including 911 service, emergency room, jail, etc.). With appropriate support from COMCARE’s Homeless Program, that figure decreases.

On any given night in this nation, 650,000 Americans are homeless including:

Working people who cannot afford housing
Under-employed or under-trained people
Those who have never worked

In Wichita, almost 400 individuals are literally homeless, living on the streets or in homeless shelters each night according to the 2009 Point-In-Time Homeless Survey. Nationally, one-third of homeless individuals have a serious mental illness; locally that percentage is higher.

The Homeless Program offers public education to increase understanding of mental illness and homelessness to foster a more supportive community.

Two major coalitions supporting homeless intervention services are:
Wichita Homeless Services Coalition - A coalition of 30 non-profit agencies or institutions that provide direct services, without charge, to the homeless population of Sedgwick County.

Continuum of Care - This group provides leadership, coordination and management of the continuum of care homeless strategic plan, HUD application process and community education.

Click here to learn about the effort to reduce chronic homelessness in Sedgwick County.

COMCARE
of Sedgwick County
First Appointment – (316) 660-7540
24-Hour Crisis Intervention Services – (316) 660-7500