Today, the Multi-Agency Center (MAC) announced that shelter and related services will be available 24/7 year-round for the first time in recent history (beyond the traditional winter shelter) for those experiencing homelessness.
The current emergency winter shelter remained open and transitioned to a year-round shelter April 1. The nonprofit MAC Board is entering into six-month agreements with more than a dozen organizations, to start, for shelter, food, health, housing and multiple other services during this initial launch phase while the full designs for the facilities at 1025 N. Main are finalized and construction begins on the overall plan.
HumanKind Ministries, Inc., has agreed to continue providing shelter in the initial six-month agreement until the MAC Board prepares a long-term request for proposal. Since November, HumanKind has been providing emergency winter shelter at the site of the future MAC, serving hundreds of people each day.
Another important partner in emergency winter services, The Lord’s Diner, has been serving dinner Monday through Friday. They have agreed to increase the meals served and will now be serving dinner 7 days a week and lunch 5 days a week at the MAC.
“In recent history, HumanKind has provided the community’s emergency winter shelter from December through March, bringing together limited resources, other providers and a commitment to serving our neighbors most in need,” Steve Dixon said. “We are so grateful to HumanKind for the compassionate care they have provided in the past and their commitment to the future to help those in need in a new capacity.”
“The amount of collaboration among all the providers is unprecedented and inspirational,” Dixon said. “And the decision by the Lord’s Diner to increase their number of meals is another sign of the community’s commitment to come together to serve our neighbors. We already have a team of 14 providers supporting the mission, and as the site continues to be built, we look forward to all the partners who will work together to change how we care for our neighbors and reach functional zero homelessness.”
Functional zero homelessness is when the number of people entering homelessness is never more than the community’s ability to house them.
“HumanKind’s mission is to help our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness and most importantly to help them find housing. This new model will allow us to serve clients in a new way and work with partners on-site to provide the long-term support they need to be successful,” said Dawn Shepler, HumanKind President and CEO.
Additional service providers are signing on to assist those experiencing or at risk for homelessness with on-site services at the MAC. These include: Breakthrough Club, City of Wichita Housing and Community Services, ICT Street Team, Mental Health America of South Central Kansas, Sedgwick County COMCARE, Sedgwick County Health Department, Substance Abuse Center of Kansas, U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs, Union Rescue Mission, United Way of the Plains / Coalition to End Homelessness in Wichita and Sedgwick County, and United Methodist Open Door.
These agreements are for the transitional period through September 30, 2025 and a scheduled RFP process will take place later this summer for service providers as needed.
Design for the shelter and services buildings are being finalized. The construction timeline will be phased, and the shelter will remain open at reduced capacity during the construction process. Partners will continue coming into the center to provide services in existing space during the construction process.
“We look forward to communicating more updates with the community as we have them. A website will be in place in the coming months and construction announcements will follow,” said Dixon.
The City of Wichita approved the local nonprofit MAC Board as the new management organization on March 4 and has committed $6 million in ARPA funds to the development and construction of the new center and an additional $5 million toward establishing an operating model and providing ongoing services for the first two years to be combined with private dollars.
Media Contact
For more information or questions about the MAC Board, please contact James Roberts, Public Policy and Management Center, Wichita State University, james.roberts@wichita.edu.
Previous Announcement
The City of Wichita approved a local nonprofit as the new management organization for the future Multi-Agency Center (MAC), located at 1025 N. Main. The non-profit formed as MAC Board, Inc. will serve as the coordinating organization to develop the future multi-agency center following the building’s renovation and construction by the City of Wichita.
Community planning identified a multi-agency center as one of the key components to achieving the community’s stated goal of “functional zero homelessness”, which is when homelessness is rare, brief, and the number of people being housed is more than the number becoming homeless.
The new public-private partnership and agreement between the MAC Board and the City is the next step in setting in motion the community-based plan to collaborate with local service providers to create a one-stop resource center for anyone experiencing homelessness or at-risk of being homeless to receive services designed to move people into housing.
For more than five years, advocacy organizations, service providers, and leaders in the community have identified a need for a multi-agency center. With the goal of moving people into housing, a MAC brings together multiple providers to provide wrap-around services at the same location as additional year-round, low-barrier shelter beds. In September 2024, the work of creating a MAC took significant steps toward becoming a reality when the City of Wichita purchased the former Park Elementary School as the future MAC site.Over the coming year, the nonprofit MAC Board will continue working toward developing a fully functioning resource center with a name to be established, including developing a service model and continued collaboration with providers to develop a fully functional service center.
“We have been working thoughtfully and quickly to achieve the community’s vision to create a new collaborative space for organizations to be together in one place serving our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” said Steve Dixon, volunteer Chairman of the MAC Board, Inc. “We are pleased to work alongside the City of Wichita who identified funding for the MAC construction and start-up operational funds through ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars. Homelessness is a community issue, and we know our community will come together to address it.”
“I am grateful to serve alongside dedicated community leaders on the MAC Board to help bring this long-awaited vision to fruition,” said Wichita Mayor Lily Wu. “This collaboration between the MAC Board, City, and service providers is the next step forward in a holistic approach to addressing homelessness in Wichita. I am thankful for the many organizations and individuals who have come together to take the crucial steps forward in effectively addressing homelessness in our community.”
This spring, the City of Wichita’s development team of Petra, HFG, and McCown Gordon is scheduled to complete the MAC building design and then will begin the construction phase. During that construction phase, the MAC Board’s immediate plans call to work with providers to continue 24-7 low-barrier shelter in a different part of the building, while engaging local providers on the multiple services that will be available once construction is completed.
Background
Over the summer and fall of 2024, representatives of the City of Wichita / Sedgwick County healthcare, social service, and homeless services convened to develop a baseline set of information and feedback to guide the initial phases of planning. Dozens of organizations were engaged to gain expert insight, identify concerns, and gather feedback. These early planning stages helped develop a proposed operating model for services, a proposed governing structure to carry out the work, and a proposed budget to execute the mission of a MAC.
The City of Wichita committed $6 million in ARPA funds to the development and construction of a multi-agency center and an additional $5 million toward establishing an operating model and providing ongoing services for the first two years to be combined with private dollars.
The new nonprofit, formed as MAC Board, Inc., is led by a start-up board comprised of community members who have decades of experience in major community initiatives and expertise across healthcare, economic development, social services, and philanthropy. The five-member board brings knowledge of the issues as many are board members of multiple organizations involved in providing services and community support. The volunteer board launched with members: Steve Dixon, Hoidale; Gary Schmitt, INTRUST Bank; Moji Rosson, Meritrust; Robyn Chadwick, Retired Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph; and Jason Gregory, InSite Real Estate. The MAC Board more recently added Mayor Lily Wu, City of Wichita, and Kent Miracle, The Print Source, a person with lived experience.
The Public Policy Management Center (PPMC) is providing staff support to the MAC Board during the startup phase.