Shelter Plus Care and Second Chance Services team up to provide housing to homeless in Topeka
A collaboration between Shelter Plus Care and Second Chance Services provided 14 homeless people with potential housing on Monday.
Corrie Wright with the City of Topeka’s Neighborhood Relations Department said the groups worked together using the Housing First model.
“With this program, we are able to house people first,” said Wright. “Instead of making them meet all of these extra requirements and be in services at the beginning, we are getting them housing first and then providing those services that are required.”
Wright says the main issues they look at when treating homeless people are mental illnesses and substance abuse problems.
14 homeless people met with the organizations at the Pizza Hut on 10th and Topeka to fill out an application. After the paper work, the people then left with rental coupons to find housing.
“In the next week or so, we hope to see them back with their paperwork so we can do the inspection and then get them into housing,” said Wright.
Wright says it will be a rent subsidy program, where the tenants will pay 30 percent of their income towards rent.
Wright says Dr. Russell Burton from Second Chance Services interacts with the homeless population on a daily basis, and that “the word is definitely spreading” on the Housing First initiative. Wright says they are excited to have a similar meeting again in the future.
