AFFORDABLE HOUSING &
ENDING HOMELESSNESS
In 2021, our network voted to work on Ending Homelessness. In 2022, we added the issue of Affordable Housing. While the two campaigns address different ends of the housing spectrum, they are "two sides of the same coin" and operate as one team we call "Housing Justice."
Our community needs affordable housing -
and an Affordable Housing Trust Fund is a key to the solution.
Over the last 5 years, we've seen the county use gap funding to address all parts of the housing spectrum. With roughly $8 million in federal HOME and COVID-era dollars, the County helped unlock about 300 homes across multiple cities — rental, supportive housing, and homeownership. This is modest public investment, but major housing impact.
Learn more about Affordable Housing Trust Funds and how they've worked in other states and municipalities around the country HERE.
Check out how Johnson County has put gap funding to good use:
Transitional Housing
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Metro Lutheran Ministries was awarded $2.38M to create 16 units of supportive rental housing for those transitioning out of homelessness
Rental Housing
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Hedge Lane Apartments (Shawnee) was granted a $1M loan to create 144 affordable apartments
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Prairiebrooke Townhomes (Gardner) $1M invested to create 76 units of affordable townhomes
Home Ownership
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Habitat for Humanity - Pathways (Olathe) received $950k to create 14 single family homes
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Habitat for Humanity - Clare Rd (Lenexa) utilized $2.47M to create 50 single family homes
What we need to see happen next:
All of the gap funding that has been awarded to affordable housing thus far has been federal housing money - or COVID relief dollars. These funding sources have run out - and there is no sustainable, local source to keep going.
The Good Faith Network is advocating for this sustainable revenue source - and the creation of a permanent Affordable Housing Trust Fund - so that this kind of development can continue to fill the gaps in our housing market.
Ending homelessness is possible...
14 communities around the nation have achieved what is called “functional zero,” meaning that rates are kept below the system’s capacity to ensure positive exits from homelessness. When homelessness does occur within these communities, it is rare and brief.
Functional zero is not a one-and-done accomplishment. Homelessness is a dynamic problem which requires dynamic solutions that can be sustained over time, even when local conditions change.
The concept of functional zero is a movement powered by Community Solutions, - learn more HERE.
There are many excellent agencies providing direct services to the homeless population of Johnson County; most are stretched thin and struggling to help people navigate the complicated array of available resources.
We take hope in Johnson County's participation in Built for Zero Kansas - the statewide initiative to reach functional zero, led by the KS Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).
2024 State of the County:
Chairman Mike Kelly declares Functional Zero by 2029
The first step towards Functional Zero is getting all stakeholders united behind the metric and the goal - so Good Faith Network rejoiced in 2024 when Chairman Mike Kelly declared that Johnson County would reach this milestone for chronic homelessness by 2029.
The work is not done. We are still asking that serious, comprehensive planning and resources be put behind this goal to ensure meaningful progress and accountability.
Julia Orlando addressed the Good Faith Network at our 2023 Nehemiah Action: