April 10, 2024 | Sign Up | Support Us

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Wichita!

15 days until our party, you coming?

In today's Wichita Life Update

Homelessness in Wichita
History of HumanKind
Who wants to go to the Super Bowl?

Let's get to it!

- Landon Huslig

TOGETHER WITH CBD PLUS

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Head to CBD Plus USA and check out the locally owned and operated hemp & cannabis company called Tall Trees that you can trust to produce the highest quality product.

Be sure to check out their day and night blends, particularly the gummies.

Learn More Here

HumanKind Ministries

Super Bowl Raffle

I don’t want to bury the lead.

How would you feel about going to watch the Chiefs accomplish their quest for a 3-peat next year and watch the Super Bowl, errr, “Big Game” in 2025 for just $50?

You, Patrick Mahomes, and Taylor Swift. Think about it….

Enter to win a trip to the Super Bowl Package valued at more than $40,000 while you support a local organization that is making real change in Wichita.

The 2025 Super Bowl Package (for two) includes:

4 days/3 nights deluxe accommodations, check in Friday afternoon and check out Monday morning
Two reserved tickets to the 2025 Big Game (Lower Level Tickets)
Round-trip game transfers
Commemorative Gift Package
Full American breakfast buffet daily
All taxes and gratuities
Expert travel & concierge service
$1,000 gift card to purchase airfare with the airline of your choice.

HumanKind

If you’ve been in downtown Wichita at any point in the recent past, you’ve probably noticed some of there are some homeless people downtown.

Every night in Wichita, 702 people experience homelessness.

You may make assumptions about these people one way or another, but no matter what preconceived notions you have, these are people and these are our neighbors.

Thankfully we have organizations in town that are here to help. You may have even seen the yellow banners along Douglas on some of the light poles.

History of HumanKind

139 years ago, the Wichita Ministerial Alliance was started by local church leaders to help those in need.

This was rebranded as Inter-Faith Ministries of Wichita in the 1970s when other faith organizations joined in.

In 2019, the organization was once again renamed, this time HumanKind Ministries which embraces “communities of all kinds in the work to help the homeless, those living in poverty, and the vulnerable in the community.”

For a full history, check out the timeline on their website.

Mission

Since the beginning, the mission has been to help those in need.

To be more specific, here is the current mission statement for HumanKind:

“HumanKind Ministries provides outreach, shelter, affordable housing, basic needs, and supportive services to those experiencing housing insecurities or poverty in Sedgwick County. Recognizing the inherent value of each person, we serve our region’s most vulnerable with compassion and, in doing so, strengthen the entire community.”

Programs and Services

This can still sound sort of abstract, so let’s dive into what programs and services HumanKind offers.

Street Outreach

From April 1 to October 31, the outreach team travels all over the city to bring essentials like water, food, toilet paper, and other basic needs to unsheltered clients.

They partner with local healthcare providers to administer first aid and basic healthcare. Regular, consistent visits build trust for clients to lean on when they are ready to move into the shelter.

Winter Shelter

HumanKind operates an Emergency Winter Shelter for both men and women. Clients have access to a safe place to sleep, hot meals, clean clothes, and basic healthcare. With coaching from Case Managers, many clients progress into extended shelters and/or into housing.

Extended Shelter

The Inn is a year-round, 60-bed, low-barrier shelter for individuals, families, and those with pets.

A typical stay is around 45 days and in that time clients meet one-on-one with a Case Manager to address their obstacles to secure housing and work toward long-term stability.

Intermediary Housing

The Studios at HumanKind – HumanKind Ministries

The Studios is a 54-unit, low-barrier facility designed to ease the progression from homelessness to independent living.

Any homeless individual can apply for a fully furnished studio apartment with all utilities paid. A typical stay will be 1 to 3 years.

Long-term Housing

The Villas is a 101-unit low-income apartment complex that ranges from lofts to 3-bedroom units. HK’s goal for residents at The Villas is to stay for many years.

We are always there to help them maintain the stability and self-sufficiency they have worked so hard for.

Supportive Services

Supportive services include things like case management which is critical to success, and holiday assistance. Each year, HK distributes necessities such as food, winter wear, blankets, and more to those in need through Operation Holiday.

I recently had Greer Cowley on the podcast to discuss all things HumanKind. Check it out on Spotify, Apple, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Shoutout to Trussell Media & The Podcast Room for the amazing studio!

How you can Help

There are several ways to help, let’s break those down:

Raffle

As we mentioned above, who wouldn’t want to go to the Super Bowl? Especially for as little as $50! Win or lose though, your donation goes the extra yards for those in need.

1 ticket ($50) covers the cost of shelter, meals, access to housing navigation, and case management for 2 women staying at our Emergency Winter Shelter.
2 tickets ($100) cover all costs for a family of four to stay one night at The Inn, our year-round shelter for families and those with pets. Providing a private room, meals, clothes, laundry showers and a case manager to help them from homeless to home.
5 tickets ($250) covers all costs for one day of Homeless Street Outreach, visiting our unsheltered neighbors living under bridges, in abandoned buildings, and other places not fit for human habitation. Our Homeless Street outreach provides food, water, hygiene, clothing and other basic needs, working to build a relationship of trust and invite clients into shelter.
10 tickets ($500) cover the cost of our security team for one day, providing 24/7 security throughout our campus, keeping our housing, shelters and supportive facilities clean and safe.
20 tickets ($1,000) sponsor a client and her dog’s entire stay at The Inn, providing meals, showers, laundry, a dog kennel, dog food and veterinarian check-up as well as supportive services to help the client from homeless to home.

Give

The easiest way is to donate online, but there are a number of ways to give listed here.

Volunteer

There are year-round as well as seasonal opportunities. A few of the year-round opportunities are serving meals at The Inn, donation sorting, campus upkeep and more.

Sleep Out

Sleep Out ICT is a program that gets Wichita talking about this important issue and helps raise money.

Give up your bed for one night and sleep anywhere else in solidarity with your homeless neighbors

Advocate

As the great Alexander Hamilton once said, “if you stand for nothing, Burr what’ll you fall for?”

Advocate for our neighbors. Spread the word about the risks homeless people face like mental health and challenges like affordable housing, minimum wage, substance abuse, and access to healthcare.

That’s it for today! I hope you learned something! Don’t forget your raffle ticket, you still have a few weeks left.

WICHITA LIFE PARTY

Come celebrate with us!

We are about 2 weeks out from our 7 Year Anniversary Party! It will be Thursday, April 25th at the Commerce Club.

We started this as an annual tradition and it has been a blast, you can check out our 5 year and 6 year highlights! A portion of ticket proceeds will go towards nonprofit Simply Hygiene.

You'll find more details on the Eventbrite page itself. Can't wait to celebrate with you!

Learn More Here