21 July 2005

Governor announces creation of the Kansas Interagency Council on Homelessness

Governor Kathleen Sebelius this morning issued an executive order creating the Kansas Interagency Council on Homelessness headed by Steve Weatherford, president of the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation.

“Our homes provide us such comfort and many of us take for granted that everyone has a place to live,” Governor Sebelius said. “Unfortunately for too many families across the country, that is not the case.”

The Council will draw upon existing resources to identify and prioritize efforts to prevent individuals and families from being homeless, engage in planning activities to utilize state agencies in the most efficient and effective manner to work toward eliminating homelessness, identifying and utilizing federal, state and other funding opportunities to address and alleviate homelessness within the State and will work to identify causes and effects of homelessness in the state in order to make informed recommendations to policymakers and other interested parties.

The Interagency Council on Homelessness brings together representatives from the Departments of Aging, Commerce, Corrections, Education, Health and Environment, Labor and Social and Rehabilitation Services, as well as the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, Human Rights Commission and the Juvenile Justice Authority. Various community organizations will also be invited to have a representative: the Veterans’ Administration, the Independent Living Centers for Persons with Disabilities, Kansas Legal Services, Healthcare for the Homeless, the Kansas Association of Community Action Programs, the Kansas chapter for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the Kansas Association for the Medically underserved, the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition, the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, the Topeka Rescue Mission, Inter-faith Ministries’ and Catholic Charities.

This executive order, number 05-05, will be filed with the Secretary of State, and will become effective immediately.