Wichita harm-reduction activists are hopeful the Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to sell Narcan, a brand of nasal spray naloxone, without a prescription over-the-counter will make the drug more accessible to people who need it – but when and how it might be available is not yet clear. The activists routinely distribute thousands of Narcan kits a year, and demand keeps rising.
City of Wichita
Posted inHousing, Local Government
Why Wichita’s work on homelessness means redefining who is impacted
Wichita’s homelessness task force is looking to learn from the past. At the March 22 task force meeting, Sedgwick County Deputy Manager Tim Kaufman reviewed the work of the previous task force that formed in 2006 to help homelessness in Wichita. Specifically, Kaufman discussed which recommendations were successfully implemented and which were not and why. […]
Posted inLocal Government, Watchdog
In Wichita, a bad headlight can lead to jail
How can a traffic ticket ruin a life? A traffic ticket for something as simple as a broken headlight or a missing taillight can snowball into a jail sentence in Kansas for low-income people who can’t afford car repairs or fines. And according to some activists and state representatives, it’s more likely to happen to […]
Posted inCivic Engagement
How are you spending 3-16? Wichitans asked to donate that day
What are you doing on March 16? The city of Wichita and the United Way of the Plains are inviting you to take part in and donate at the 316 Day of Caring, a date selected because 316 is Wichita’s area code, often used as a verbal shorthand for the city’s name. It also conveniently […]
Posted inCivic Engagement, Local Government
Did a cost-cutting move reduce voter turnout in 2022?
Is Sedgwick County doing enough to ensure voting in elections is accessible to all? Nancy Brown, a leader of the Wichita League of Women Voters, doesn’t think so. She and other voting rights advocates believe people who have difficulty going to the polls were harmed by the Sedgwick County Commission last year. In the 2022 […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Local Government
DIY Democracy: How to run for City Council or mayor in Wichita
Candidates who want to run for City Council or mayor have a lot of information to dissect and understand and a lot of tasks to complete. A detail as small as where you place your yard sign can be dictated by city ordinances. Getting the essential information isn’t easy. It’s not readily available online. It […]
Posted inHousing, Local Government
Wichita’s new task force will address homelessness. Who’s involved and what are their goals?
Update: the location of the meeting has been changed to Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street N., Room 138. Text in the story has been changed to reflect this. Concerned about the number of unhoused people living in Wichita and what is – and isn’t – being done to help them? A new task […]
Posted inHousing
In freezing temperatures, volunteers help count Wichita’s homeless population
With temperatures in the 20s before dawn on Jan. 26, tired-eyed volunteers with their breath freezing in the air began to gather in downtown Wichita at United Methodist Open Door. Each of them bundled up with warm clothes to keep the breeze from nipping at them.
Posted inEnvironment, Kansas State Government, Watchdog
‘I’m just so angry’: Wichitans feel state neglected to warn them of danger
In November, KMUW and The Wichita Beacon requested records detailing what the state did to inform the public of the contamination. The state produced limited evidence that it followed through on key aspects of its own communications plan between 2003 and 2022.
Posted inKansas State Government
These Wichita lawyers are providing Kansans with a way off the drug registry list
Kansas Legal Services and the Wichita Bar Association are offering potentially free help to people who want to be removed from the state’s drug registry, but to participate you must sign up by Jan. 28, then attend an in-person clinic on Feb. 5.