News Archive

“To be clear, we are going to be just as laser-focused on this housing crisis, and we will count down the days and the months and years until Johnson County will get serious about choosing real safety for all of our community and our networks.” - Rev. Tim Suttle, following a Nehemiah Action where Chairman Kelly once again turned down a funding stream for an affordable housing trust fund. 

Amy Cox of the Good Faith Network said the partnership “sounds promising in principle” but asked for more information on the nonprofit, including the organization’s members, timelines and deliverables.

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The Good Faith Network has pressed county officials for more action on housing issues... “What is the likelihood that the housing created through this partnership will truly be obtainable for populations most in need, such as low-income individuals and families and those exiting homelessness?” Cox asked.

It's been 501 days since Johnson County BOCC voted to research sustainable funding sources for solutions like an affordable housing trust fund in Johnson County.

Good Faith Network visited the BOCC today to clear up any confusion about what Sustainable Funding Sources report we are seeking - take a few minutes to watch.

“This is a crisis, and our state is showing up, our service providers are showing up, the faith community is showing up. Where is my county?” [Rev. Tim Suttle] said.

Ros Thorpe, co-chair of the Good Faith Network Affordable Housing Team, presents an open letter to Chairman Kelly in the public comments of the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners meeting, 2-20-2025.

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"We, the undersigned members and supporters of the Good Faith Network, formally request the immediate release of the Sustainable Funding Sources report for an affordable housing trust fund, which the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners approved for preparation on October 26, 2023."

“This is a crisis, and our state is showing up, our service providers are showing up, the faith community is showing up. Where is my county?” [Rev. Tim Suttle] said.

Pastor Tim Suttle talks about what's next in ending homelessness in Johnson County.

We won't get to Functional Zero by accident... It's going to take a plan.

"Melissa Guinto-Jehle, speaking on behalf of the interfaith coalition Good Faith Network, referred to city staffers’ recommendation as an instance of redlining, a historic practice restricting who could access home loans or live in a specific community, often along racial and economic lines.

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“Those past practices are echoed here tonight in this room,” Guinto-Jehle said. “Here we are looking at a commercial property across from an interstate and using coded language about the neighborhood and fear about resource scarcity, all to shut people out once again.”

'Members of the Good Faith Network, a Johnson County interfaith organization, also have been pressing for the county to commit to creating an affordable housing fund to work toward reducing homelessness. Three members spoke at the beginning of the commission meeting Thursday on that topic.

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LaDonna Williams, of Leawood, mentioned the upcoming vote on World Cup funding and acknowledged the value of the future Kuhlman site as a park and the World Cup tourism. “However the thought of investing $1.5 million to support visitors to Arrowhead for six soccer games instead of potentially investing permanently on housing for Johnson County residents doesn’t add up for us,” she said.'

In front of more than 1,500 people at its Nehemiah Action event Tuesday at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, the Good Faith Network, an interfaith coalition of 27 local congregations and houses of worship, pressed Johnson County commissioners Shirley Allenbrand and Jeff Meyers on taking action to help unhoused people in the state of Kansas’s wealthiest county.

“I encourage others to join me at ...The Nehemiah Action, an interfaith gathering of The Good Faith Network,” Thalblum continued. “We will raise many voices loud enough to Johnson County commissioners who will be there to further the work..."

"The county is striving to “end chronic homelessness in Johnson County and reach functional zero by 2029,” a term often used to refer to when a community reaches the milestone of having homelessness be only brief and rare."

"Several members of the Good Faith Network, including Olathe pastor Tim Suttle, said the shelter is a welcome if overdue step to addressing the needs of people experiencing homelessness. “We agree a shelter is indispensable as a resource that will stop the bleeding and very likely save lives,” he said. “But at the same time we know that just as band-aids do not cure, a shelter will not solve homelessness.”

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Suttle and some others urged the commission to continue to work toward “functional zero,” a milestone that means homelessness is brief and rare within a community because of systems put in place to detect, prevent and address it.

Pat Hotze, also of Good Faith Network, said fears of shelter are often based on incorrect assumptions and biases.

“Keeping certain people out is unfortunately part of our county’s history,” she said."

"[BOCC] agreed to study establishing a housing trust fund, where money would go toward preserving and increasing affordable housing. The month before, more than 1,000 people gathered at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood to advocate for affordable housing solutions at an event hosted by The Good Faith Network, an interfaith coalition of 27 local congregations."

The Affordable Housing Feasibility Study passes the Board of County Commission - it's presence on the agenda was a direct result of our 2023 Nehemiah Action. 

"The idea for a trust fund was promoted recently by the Good Faith Network."

Coverage for our 2023 Solutions Briefing, which featured KDADS Commissioner Andrew Brown opening the door to state funding for

Good Faith Network's solutions.

The Good Faith Network has been calling on the county commission to make systemic plans, but leaders continue to drag their feet.

Now, with a brutal winter upon us, we gather on Project 1020’s opening day for a communal lament that we leave it to volunteer-led shelters to keep the most vulnerable alive and out of the deadly cold.

Additional press coverage on the prayer rally by our local NPR affiliate.

'The Good Faith Network is among the local groups calling for a crisis stabilization center in Johnson County, according to Ali Haynes, the pastor at Indian Heights United Methodist Church.

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“A crisis stabilization center is the centerpiece of the crisis continuum,” Haynes said, adding that they are urging the county to have a center by 2025.'

Local faith reporter and blogger Bill Tammeus profiles the Good Faith Network and chronicles our first Nehemiah Assembly. 

Brian Hogan, a co-chair of our Ending Homelessness Action Team, read a statement of support on behalf of the Good Faith Network to support this affordable housing development. 

The first profile of the Good Faith Network in the Shawnee Mission Post, our local Johnson County paper. Reporter Leah Wankum interviewed members of the executive board.