KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Providing cold weather resources in Wyandotte County is a struggle for organizations and those who need help to survive dangerous winter weather.
“[It’s] kinda hard,” Jacquelyn Green said. “It’s been stressful a little bit.”
Green has been unhoused for three years after the death of her grandparents.
Despite feeling like she's in the midst of a downhill journey, she looks forward to each day she can spend at the Wilhelmina Gill Multi-Service Center.
“Wila Gill's is the best place to come eat food,” Green said.
The center is KCK’s only cold weather shelter that operates from December to March when the temperature is 25 degrees or colder.
“This weather is vicious,” Green said.
Her other challenge is trying to find a warm place to sleep when the shelter isn't open.
“The hardest part is waiting, not having nowhere to go,” Green said. “Wondering when’s the next time I’m going to have somewhere to lay at when they close or if they don’t open.”
Timing is also a challenge for Cross-Lines Community Outreach, the organization that oversees the citywide cold weather shelter project.
“This year, we weren’t able to finalize this location until December; so in December, there were cold days, in November there were cold days,” said Rob Santel, director of programs for Cross-Lines Community Outreach. “We weren’t able to operationalize this until the first part of January, which was when those really cold days hit.”
The cold weather shelter operates from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. at 645 Nebraska Ave.
It can provide shelter for 40 people each night.
"40 beds is not enough," Green said.
The center has dealt with being over capacity on bitter cold and snowy days like those on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Since it began operations this year, it’s been open 23 nights and helped 185 different guests.
The low barrier shelter is first-come, first-served. Instead of cots, people sleep in individual tents.
“If they have that sense of privacy, there are significantly less problems, and we think it’s really rooted in dignity,” Santel said. “If we treat people with dignity throughout the shelter process and experience, that is going to dramatically have a better experience for everyone.”
The shelter extended its hours Wednesday morning until 8 a.m. and was back open at 5 p.m. after the snowstorm.
Because of the snow, the other organizations that utilize Wilhelmina Gill Multi-Service Center did not use the space Wednesday.
That allowed Cross-Lines to keep tents up for the center's 5 p.m. opening.
However, this was an anomaly.
“There's really no place for people to go during the day,” Santel said.
That’s why he says the shelter coordinated with the nearby Frank Williams Outreach Center.
“We try to make sure that we are open in enough time that when the cold weather shelter closes, people can come right over here,” said Rachel Erpelding, the vice president of housing for the Wyandot Behavioral Health Network and the Executive Director of Kim Wilson Housing.
The outreach center is usually open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day but stayed open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
The center serves about 60 to 80 people each day.
Lunch was served Wednesday because the normal lunch provider was not operating out of the Wilhelmina Gill center.
Erpelding says there is a desire among the homeless services community in Wyandotte County for a permanent, year-round shelter.
“There’s a really dedicated group of people both who provide services, there are commissioners involved, they have met with leadership at the Unified Government, and they’ve been doing that for about two years,” Erpelding said. “I’m a part of that group. There are plans, and there’s a hope that we’re going to move forward with those plans. Hopefully, maybe in a year or two, we can have a more permanent location that can be open 24/7 so that effort can be streamlined. It won’t be as frantic or as chaotic. We do get it done though, and we’ll continue to do that and provide those services.”
It’s a hope Santel shares and one that will help those he works alongside answer a critical question.
“Where do people go when they exit the shelter system?" Santel said. "There is no place in Wyandotte County for people to go.”
He also said the work Cross-Lines does as a cold weather shelter was initially intended to be a temporary solution to ease pressure on a limited system.
“Unfortunately, we’ve really not made much progress to get to that, so these little band aid things are…we’re getting worn out,” Santel said.
His biggest critique is the approach to homelessness as something a shelter stay can fix.
“We have, as a community, a problem for that in-between, and that’s a challenge that we have to navigate because they end up here,” Santel said. “And often times, we deal with them here or put them out on the street, and that’s not something we want to do.”
A focus on wraparound services and providing more housing solutions are some of the ways he believes homelessness should be addressed.
“Let’s end homelessness and not try to manage the problem or try to move the problem of homelessness,” Santel said. “We have to have that bigger picture lens.”
For now, the shelter, nor the outreach center is open 24 hours a day or seven days a week.
On days when they’re closed, Green finds herself in a familiar place.
“Being out here, it's hard,” she said. “It's too hard. I don't want anybody to have to deal with this.”
Getting consistent help is an uphill battle, and all Green wants for those experiencing homelessness is a little more momentum.
“Extra time to warm up, to wake up, to think, to know where the steps you'll go,” Green said.
The hotline for the cold weather shelter is 913-725-0079. An automated message on whether the shelter is open is updated each day by 8 a.m.
The shelter's address is 645 Nebraska Ave., Kansas City, Kansas
