Rates of liver cancer and low birth weights are higher among people living above a toxic groundwater site northeast of downtown Wichita, a new health study by the state of Kansas finds. The source of the contamination is the Union Pacific rail yard at 29th and Grove, which has a chemical in its soil and […]
wichita
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Refugee from the Congo escapes violence to build life anew: ‘Wichita is my home’
This story begins with Gédéon Bahemuka Jino’s happy ending — his life today in Wichita. Gédéon works a job he enjoys in an office downtown, five miles from a house he owns near 17th and Hillside streets. He lives there with his wife and two daughters — one a junior at Southeast High School, the […]
Posted inAccountability, Housing
Wichita’s homeless population grows to highest number in 12 years
What is driving Wichita’s homeless population to record numbers? This year’s homeless count recorded 702 homeless individuals, the highest number recorded by point-in-time counts going back to 2011. Homelessness is defined as living in shelters, transitional housing or conditions not meant for habitation, including on the streets. This definition does not include people who may […]
Posted inLocal Government
Surprised? Wichita Animal Shelter now meets ‘no kill’ rates for euthanasia
In 2012, nearly half the stray cats and dogs picked up by Wichita’s animal control were staring down a death sentence. The Wichita Animal Shelter euthanized 4,476 dogs and cats that year, with a majority of those being cats. That represented 45 percent of animals that came to the facility that year, according to its […]
Posted inHealth
Deaths of adult children fall hard on aging parents, but help with grief exists
Most children grow into adulthood aware they will likely experience the death of a parent. But parents are rarely prepared for the death of an adult child — yet it becomes increasingly common as people age. According to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 9 percent of Americans experience […]
Posted inLocal Government
Struggling with your water bill? Help is available
If you qualified for assistance for your energy bill this year, you may also qualify for $50 off your water bill in Wichita. And if you didn’t but still need help, other options for water bill relief are also available. In Wichita someone’s water will be shut off, typically, after three months of nonpayment. This […]
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Meet Shaila Roach, a Wichita tattoo artist telling stories through ink
Imagine the perfect TV family, only the parents are 1980s metalheads, divorced, struggling financially and otherwise, and everyone is covered in tattoos, including grandpa. That is the family Shaila Roach grew up in: An unconventional but unconditionally loving family that defies expectation of what that’s supposed to look like. Today her family looks like this, […]
Posted inHealth
FDA has approved over-the-counter Narcan. What does that mean for Wichita?
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.
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
Wichita LGBTQ+ advocate Jackie Carter: Parents are ‘just terrified’ for their children
Jackie Carter is a longtime Wichita resident and LGBTQ advocate. She is the senior pastor at Table of Hope, formerly known as the First Metropolitan Community Church of Kansas. It is affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church group, which was designed and created as the first religious community that would ordain, marry and include gay […]