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Half of retirees downsize their homes. What should they consider?

What are we going to do with all this stuff?!  It’s a question more people confront every day as they or their parents reach retirement age.  Approximately 58,000 people aged 65 and older live in Wichita, according to latest census figures. Slightly more than half of these retirees will downsize from their longtime residence, moving…

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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…

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.  …

At least 49 unhoused Wichitans died in 2022

The amount of homeless deaths reported in 2022 in Wichita was more than double than it was in previous years. Since 2006, Advocates to End Chronic Homelessness (AECH) has organized a memorial service to ensure that people who die while unhoused are not forgotten.

Wichita allocates additional $100K to fund demolition of dangerous and dilapidated properties

To pay for more demolitions of blighted houses in the next year, the Wichita City Council added $100,000 to the 2022 building and construction department budget on June 14. The city condemns and demolishes vacant residential properties that it considers unsafe — for example, fire-damaged homes, residences with falling-in porches and unsecured houses. To reduce a…