Although Lenexa officials last year approved an over 66% increase in the number of places available at Project 1020, the county’s only cold-weather homeless shelter, the facility at the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church has been full to overflowing every day this season since it opened Dec. 1, say organizers.
On Thursday, advocates for people without housing asked for and got help from county commissioners in the form of funding of up to $25,000 for vouchers for hotel or motel stays — at negotiated rates — to help those residents who get to the shelter after it fills up.
The funding is intended to last through March 31, after which the shelter closes for the season.
The item was added to the agenda as an emergency measure, with advocates noting overnight lows in the teens and single digits forecast for this weekend.
“Just in the 10-day forecast today, all of the lows are below freezing, and six of those 10 nights are in the teens or lower. These temperatures can truly be deadly, especially for those with chronic health conditions,” said Rita Carr, director of community planning for United Community Services of Johnson County, a nonprofit that addresses homelessness and other social issues.
Commissioners voted unanimously for the funding, while acknowledging that it is a stopgap solution to the county’s affordable housing struggles.
“This is very much a very narrow response to where we are at this point in time,” said Commissioner Julie Brewer, who asked that the item be added to the agenda.
Brewer, who used to lead United Community Services before her election to the commission in 2024, noted uncertainty in federal funding for programs for people without permanent homes.
“This is not a long-term solution,” Brewer said. “This is really just being responsive to a period of time that we have identified extreme weather and what we do for safety issues for individuals experiencing homelessness.”
Shelter leaders say there’s still not enough room
Project 1020 is the only shelter in the county for single adults and was established in 2015 in the former Don Bonjour Elementary School.
Last year, the shelter won an expansion from the Lenexa City Council to increase its nightly 30-bed capacity to 50 beds, along with some other changes in the rules of its operation.
But that expansion has been inadequate to meet needs that have been increasing this year, shelter leaders say.
Barb McEver, co-founder of the shelter, said after the county commission meeting Thursday that the shelter has seen an overflow every night, ranging from 10 to 20 more people than it is allowed to hold.
So far this season, Project 1020 has spent over $9,300 in hotel and motel stays to house some of that overflow.
Shelter workers try to find other shelter space, McEver said, but since they may be farther from jobs, that can pose a problem.
“There’s frostbitten toes… This is not a joke”
The county funding will help get people out of the cold, but does not get them the evening meal that they would get at the shelter. McEver said shelter workers typically keep food on hand to give to people headed to a motel stay, or else they get a gift card if there are restaurants nearby.
The voucher money will come from the county reserve fund, with anything left over at the end of the season returned to the county.
Commission Chair Mike Kelly noted that housing has been a commission priority for several years. Although this was an unexpected funding request, he said, “at the same time, we recognize we don’t exist in a vacuum. We have reserves for a reason that we have the ability to be nimble and innovative,” to meet community needs.
Commissioner Becky Fast issued a challenge to faith organizations to step up to provide funding. Janeé Hanzlick echoed that. “I don’t know what the cost is per night, but even if it’s $50, that’s one night someone could be in a hotel,” she said.
Hanzlick said it must be “soul-crushing” to have to turn away people because the shelter is full.
McEver noted that churches contribute in a variety of ways, especially in providing meals.
Brian Perkins spoke to commissioners as the discussion began. Perkins, who is homeless, said he’s stayed at Project 1020 in the past. “I couldn’t support this more,” he said. “This is people’s lives. It’s real. There’s frostbitten toes that happen, and hands. This is not a joke, not a game.”
