UG Commission approves temporary cold weather shelter at Reardon Center

The Unified Government Commission on Thursday night voted unanimously to approve a temporary cold weather shelter at the Reardon Center.

Several community members and social service workers spoke in favor of the shelter, warning that people left outside during the coming cold weather this weekend could lose limbs or their lives.

Mayor Tyrone Garner told the group he was in favor of helping the homeless. However, he had unanswered questions about the plans to place the shelter at the Reardon Center, and that is why he had delayed the shelter’s opening.

He said most of his questions were answered Thursday night by those who are working on the sheleter plans. One question he still had was about adequate security at the shelter.

Several other issues, such as what they will do with the homeless after the sun rises and it’s still very cold outside, and whether there was transportation available to take them to day programs, was a concern, he said. He was also concerned about identifying individuals and working with them to find long-term solutions.

Mayor Garner also said one of his campaign issues was to address poverty and homelessness in Wyandotte County, working on a long-range plan.

He did not want to close the shelter, Mayor Garner said, but he wanted to provide resources in a safe environment so it could be successful.

Rob Santel, director of housing solutions at Cross-Lines Community Outreach, explained the details of the project.

Santel said the shelter will be open when it is 25 degrees or below. Their guests would be able to arrive from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and there would be a hotline for them to call. As many as 35 individuals could be sheltered there.

Professional staff will be on hand, and there will be staff overnight, Santel said. They are trained in de-escalation. Guests will be provided with a tent to sleep in while at the center.

Santel noted that even though they were open last year, there still were three people at a local hospital on the same floor who had to have amputations of their feet from their exposure to the cold weather.

The staff will have conversations about housing with individuals to try to get them into permanent housing, he said.

The center will provide a hot meal in the evening and breakfast in the morning, he said.

“Our goal is to go unnoticed,” Santel said. They have been keeping a low profile, and they did not want to create a situation where all the other communities would bring homeless people into this shelter, according to Santel.

He said they have consulted with an epidemiologist and with the Fire Department on their safety plans, and they have a safe procedure ready to go tomorrow night.

Some of the UG commissioners echoed Garner’s statement that they were unaware of what was going on with the shelter plans, and they wanted more information.

Commissioner Tom Burroughs said communication is key to the things they do within the community, and there was not a commissioner on the board who was insensitive to the needs of the homeless.

He said it was important for the commission to receive information about the community programs, and that everyone has to be at the table to move forward.

Commissioner Christian Ramirez said he supported the resolution to open the shelter. He added they could sit down with members of the community and find a solution that is long term.

He said he was motivated to fight for the homeless, and that population has always heard, “wait.” For far too long, they have been told to wait, he added.

The only drawback he saw was that while a few commissioners worked on the project and provided input, the rest of the commission was not notified about it and did not know the contract had already been signed. He said he felt “blindsided.” His only criticism was with the process, he added.

Commissioner Gayle Townsend asked for more details to be provided on the project, since they had not heard the details, and then Santel provided the details.

Commissioner Andrew Davis said, “This is embarrassing, and you all deserve better from us.”

He was in favor of the resolution, and the homeless center, as they do not have an alternative plan in place, he said.

He called for more communication, and also favored a task force or commission to work on a long-term solution.

Several community comments were received.

Dustin Hare of Wyandotte County Mutual Aid, has been working with the unhoused for two years and said he supported opening the Reardon Center to get people into a shelter from the cold weather. He said they lost a couple of people on the Missouri side of the state line when the weather got cold, and he didn’t want to see that happen here.

“It’s freezing outside, please help these folks,” said Chester Bell. He added the shelter was an opportunity for the homeless to get other services as well.

Susila Jones, executive director of Cross-Lines, said this was a community collaborative of several agencies to save the limbs and lives of people who are unhoused. These agencies are staffing the shelter with people who work everyday with the homeless.

Patrick Ishmael, a resident of nearby Strawberry Hll, said there should have been more community engagement. They were just finding out about the UG meeting about 20 minutes before it started, he said. Community engagement should have been started long ago, he said.

Helen Collins supported opening the Reardon Center to the homeless.

She said the community does need to get together and have meetings about it.

“This hurts my heart to hear about the homeless,” Collins said.

“Where’s our moral compass?” Charles Carney of the Prescott neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, asked. Society will be judged on how it treats the most vulnerable, he added.

Rachel Erpelding, executive director of Kim Wilson Housing, said to close the shelter when the weather is about to turn cold is not acceptable. There is a need to serve the most vulnerable, who have no place to go when it is cold out.

Reece Towers, whose business office is located near the shelter, said it was a shock that it was even taking place.

“We were told 30 organizations were contacted,” she said. “We were not contacted.”

She added she is all for helping people, but the community should have been involved in this.