Homelessness and affordable housing were at the center of conversation during a forum for Wichita City Council District 6 candidates.
All three candidates for the seat attended the forum hosted by the Wichita Journalism Collaborative. Incumbent Maggie Ballard faces Brett Anderson and Margaret Shabazz in the race.
District 6 covers parts of central and northwest Wichita roughly between I-135 and I-235 from downtown and Delano north to almost Valley Center.
The district is home to the city’s newest homeless shelter, Second Light, formerly known as the Multi-Agency Center. The shelter, which opened last year, is undergoing construction to add wraparound services, including mental health and substance use treatment resources. It eventually will also include individual living spaces and permanent supportive housing.
Ballard said the shelter is just one part of helping the homeless in the city.
“We are definitely putting our best foot forward and putting in place the services that we have needed for a very long time,” she said. “I’m very proud of the work that we’ve been doing. It’s just going to take a little bit more time for them to get up and running and fully staffed.”
Shabazz, a political newcomer, advocated for zones for the homeless to camp around the city and said they needed to be treated with compassion.
“We can come and meet them where they are by mobilizing our resources,” Shabazz said. “We can also partner up with the businesses around town and ask them, 'Please adopt one. Please hire one at a livable cost.' ”
Anderson said the city shouldn’t use tax dollars to help fund services for the homeless – including the public-private shelter space at Second Light.
“It’s going to have to come through like a sales tax type thing,” Anderson said. “It’s going to also have to come through collaboration with the public. The public’s going to have to step up. Nonprofits have to step up.
“And then there’s also going to have to be a level of personal responsibility from the homeless to actually try to get themselves fixed.”
The candidates agreed that homelessness needed to be addressed in order to attract more businesses to the Broadway corridor north from downtown.
“We’ve had a lot of businesses leave Broadway, and I totally, totally understand that,” Ballard said. “But we’re not going to be able to attract anybody to Broadway to run their business and feel safe until we get our mental health crisis under control.”
Anderson said Broadway needed to be “cleaned up.”
“That’s a possible area to maybe bring in some industry, to bring in some money, to bring in some taxes to possibly help out with other things inside that area,” he said.
On the topic of affordable housing, Shabazz suggested the city consider placing caps on rent when it is involved in offering incentives for housing projects.
“I’m going to be an elder one day,” she said. “I don’t want to be priced out, and at this rate, I’m going to be priced out.”
