Supportive-housing partners outline requests; Cardinal Housing Network seeks staff and operating support for Baldwin project

Supportive-housing partners and county staff presented supplemental requests and program updates during the July 6 budget hearings, emphasizing operations, staffing and close coordination with justice-system referrals.

Jill Jolliker, assistant county administrator, invited representatives from local partners to the table. Rebecca Buford, executive director of Tenants to Homeowners, Brenda Wall, executive director of Family Promise of Lawrence, Hannah Bolton, program director of Cardinal Housing Network, Galo Bade of the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority and Simon Besmer of Mental Health America of the Heartland each summarized their work and funding requests.

Hannah Bolton described a recently acquired Baldwin property (a five-bedroom house with three unfinished accessory dwelling units) purchased through an LLC and discussed plans to operate a shared co-op model for single mothers. Bolton said the project needs operating support for live-in housing managers, utilities (about $1,000 per month per property), transportation to services in Lawrence and staff time for case management and property administration. She said Cardinal serves a justice-involved cohort (many residents come directly from the county jail) and is seeking a sustainable mix of county support, volunteer resources and grants to avoid overreliance on owner contributions.

Commissioners pressed Bolton on fundraising and revenue lines: Bolton said year-to-date private contributions were roughly $45,000 and that Cardinal is exploring volunteer partnerships (including a student volunteer network) and grant opportunities but currently lacks multi-year audited financials required for some federal/state grants. She also described an operational choice: if the organization cannot secure sufficient operating funds, the Baldwin property could be managed solely as a landlord-owned rental rather than a supported-housing program.

Family Promise asked for one-time capital funds to support some completed projects and described a proposed safe-family shelter model that staff and commissioners said resembles transitional supportive housing. Jill Jolliker and commissioners noted the City of Lawrence has had intermittent interest in a family shelter project but has not committed funding to date.

Simon Besmer of Mental Health America explained that the flexible housing pool and a set of 12 master leases are now administered through Mental Health America of the Heartland; commissioners requested clarification on where some 2025 dollars were recorded after a transition from a prior provider and on the split between county and HUD or other federal funding that offsets program costs.

Partners described outcomes and service-linkage challenges: an early internal analysis shared with staff showed crisis contacts for a small Cardinal cohort fell (from 66 crisis contacts before housing to 42 after housing), and representatives urged stable transportation and on-site staffing to preserve those gains.

No supplemental funding decisions were made at the hearing; commissioners said they will continue to review requests during the budget deliberation period.