Christine Tomkus, Staff Contact
Background
In
2006, the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County joined
together at the urging of non-profit and faith-based
organizations to form the Task Force to End Chronic
Homelessness (TECH). The enabling resolution charged the
task force with identifying the issues related to ending
chronic homelessness and making recommendations to the
two governing bodies as to how the County and City can
be effective partners with community advocate groups to
address the needs of people experiencing chronic
homelessness. Additionally, TECH was charged with
developing a plan to end chronic homelessness in
Sedgwick County to include short, intermediate and long
range strategies, as well as potential funding options
as appropriate and a mechanism for reporting on goal
obtainment.
Announcements
In an effort to support the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and better meet the needs of local homeless adults, the Sedgwick County Division of Human Services offers free Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability (SSI/SSDI) Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) training. SOAR is a national program, recently implemented by the County; the program teaches case managers and others who work with homeless adults about the SSI/SSDI application process. The goal is to secure benefits for eligible individuals on the first application. For more information on SOAR program, visit http://www.prainc.com/soar/
Oversight Committee
In March, the Wichita City Council and the Sedgwick County Board of County
Commissioners endorsed the Task Force to End Chronic Homelessness (TECH) Plan.
One of the five strategies in that plan was to create an oversight committee,
with members being nominated by the City Manager (Wichita) and the County
Manager (Sedgwick County). The members of the group were selected in May and all
have accepted their positions. The members are:
- Jack Focht - Chair
- TJ Akin
- Jean Hogan
- Ray Frederick
- Ben Grisamore
- Janet Miller
- Melissa Walker
The next meeting will be from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Thursday, April 22, 2010 at the Ark Valley Lodge, 615 N Main. If you would like to contact the oversight committee with any feedback or thoughts, please email Jack Focht, Oversight Chair at jfocht@foulston.com. To view meeting minutes, click here.
Work of the Task Force
TECH is comprised of representatives from various community sectors including business, the public school system, non-profits, people who experienced homelessness, faith communities, civic leaders, an urban neighborhood, and city and county governments. TECH has met over a period of 16 months and conducted its work in four phases:
-
Studying Homelessness and Available Resources in Wichita
-
Identifying Gaps in Service to the Chronically Homeless
-
Researching Best Practices Nationally
-
Developing Strategies to End Chronic Homelessness
After identifying and understanding the problem, the TECH has completed it's Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. If you would like to get a quick glance at what the plan entails including updates, click here. If you would like to send comments or questions to the taskforce, please do so by clicking here. These comments will go to a County staff member assigned to the taskforce.
© Copyright, 2010 Sedgwick County, Kansas
Please report problems to the webmaster
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED