The demands include improving the emergency rental assistance application, preventing landlords from evicting a tenant who has applied for assistance and using rental assistance to pay off an eviction judgement.
‘They need to make changes now’: Local housing advocates demand improvements to KC’s rental assistance program
Posted inWatchdog
Hurdles too high for some Kansans seeking emergency rental assistance
Sheila Sager doesn’t know if she should pack her bags. Her twins caught COVID. The electric company was threatening to shut off the lights. Her landlord was preparing to sell the house she rented, irritated with her pleas to get his cooperation on rental assistance paperwork. Sager was unemployed and behind on her bills — […]
Posted inEducation
Burned out: UMKC student says advocacy for sexual assault survivors didn’t lead to change
Boschen has felt unsupported as a survivor navigating life at college, and her frustrations continue. She says she’s burned out.
Posted inLocal Government
How a statewide anti-masking group played into Sedgwick County’s mask mandate vote
a Wichita Beacon analysis of over 1,000 emails county commissioners received ahead of the vote on the mask mandate found that anti-mask emails outweighed pro-mask emails by nearly two to one.
Posted inCivic Engagement
Formerly incarcerated people can still vote in Missouri. This KC group shows them how.
Recently, the Kansas City Council passed a resolution recognizing the work of MORE2 to engage and register people in Kansas City with misdemeanor or felony convictions. Kansas City is the first municipality in Missouri to pass such a resolution.
Posted inEducation
Wichita State betting on Hispanics becoming 25% of all students by 2030
Valeria Paunetto was torn between two identities when her family came to Wichita from Puerto Rico six years ago. “I was at a crossroads where I had to ask myself if I wanted to assimilate and play the game — to not be myself and be who others wanted me to be. Would I be […]
Posted inEconomics
‘We can’t represent everyone we want’: In eviction court, most tenants fight their cases without a lawyer
National research estimates that about 90% of landlords have legal representation in eviction cases, whereas 90% of tenants do not.
Posted inCivic Engagement
Refugees are coming to Kansas City. Here’s how to help.
For years, Kansas City has been a destination for refugees and new immigrants, largely because of the work of three resettlement agencies: Jewish Vocational Service, Della Lamb Community Services and Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. As the region prepares to receive significant numbers of refugees after several years of restricted admissions, KC for Refugees and the other agencies are sharing multiple ways for people to get involved.
Posted inEducation
‘A 60,000-square-foot welcome mat’: New KCPS center helps immigrant, refugee students
The Welcome Center is designed to help students gain the language and cultural and educational skills they need to succeed.
Posted inEducation
Lunch. Soccer. Class. COVID. Wichita students on starting new year of pandemic learning
What happens when the unprecedented becomes precedented? As Kansas schools wrap up the first month of a second year of pandemic learning, they’re still struggling with many of the same challenges as last year, even as they’re left with fewer tools to address them. But for Wichita area high school students, returning for another COVID-19 school year means the virus has become a regular part […]