WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The annual homeless count in Wichita and Sedgwick County was held on Thursday.
United Way of the Plains manages Impact ICT – Continuum of Care and led the 2023 homelessness data collection efforts.
Partner agencies worked with volunteers to count the homeless in the area.
“Our goal today is just to get the most accurate count possible, but exact numbers are hard to say. Those will come out later in the year. It really helps move the needle for funding for our homeless people and everyone in our community to provide much-needed additional resources,” said Kenny Barker, homeless program supervisor with Robert J. Dole VA.
The findings are then reported to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to study national trends.
“These data collection teams will talk to the homeless one-on-one and collect information that will ultimately be used to move them into a safer, more stable environment,” said Cole Schnieders, United Way of the Plains Continuum of Care planning manager.
Count information is used by Impact ICT – Continuum of Care to make local funding decisions, study trends, reach out to disadvantaged people and raise awareness of those without stable housing.
The last point count of homeless people in Wichita-Sedgwick County was conducted on February 24, 2022. The results showed a total number of 690 homeless people in Wichita-Sedgwick County compared to 619 in 2020. A full count has not been conducted in 2021 due to various service disruptions caused by the pandemic.
