Wesley House: Despite Criticism, We’re Here to Help

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Last year, a petition was made that brought forward citizens’ ideas on how the city should deal with local homelessness. One of the petition’s points said that some citizens do not support services in Pittsburg that have no track record of success.

Ideas like that seem targeted at Wesley House, a daytime shelter in Pittsburg that provides services for those in need. And assuming they are, Wesley House leaders say they miss the mark. Wesley House manager Kelly Pulliam said that the shelter provides services that have been proven successful in helping the homeless in Pittsburg.

“We are seen mostly as a positive establishment by a lot of people in town,” Pulliam said. “We also often have people in the community donate and volunteer at the shelter, despite some of the negative comments that could be pointed towards us.”

There is a wide range of services in Pittsburg that both unhoused and housed individuals alike use. The Lord’s Diner provides a food truck that feeds people for free weekly, while the Wesley House provides their daytime shelter Monday through Friday, and also offers the following services:
·                     Community food pantry
·                     A kitchen and hot meals served twice a day
·                     Clothing donations
·                     Washers and Dryers
·                     Showers
·                     Connections to resources that help with housing placement
·                     Vulnerability assessments
·                     Diversion program

Pulliam said many people have been helped by the Wesley House, including 36-year-old Joseph Livingston, who was homeless in Pittsburg for two years.

Livingston found himself in Pittsburg after a falling out with his family and said that at first, he didn’t know how to feel about the Wesley House.

“At first I thought this place was just a nut house or something with all the people outside looking like they were acting crazy,” Livingston said. “I feel like that’s what everyone thinks of the Wesley House at first glance, but that’s not at all what it is.”

After Livingston’s decision to utilize the Wesley House and their services, he got a job and a house within a year.

“I worked and finally got through the programs to get myself a house,” Livingston said. “I keep taking steps, I have a job, but I still use Wesley House to wash my clothes and get food because those are still things I need sometimes.”

Most people who see success getting off of the streets like Livingston use resources such as Housing First, a program the Wesley House works with.

The Housing First program, otherwise known as “rapid rehousing,” was created by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and is a program that does exactly what its name entails—houses people first before providing them with anything else.

National Alliance to End Homelessness studies show that 75%–91% percent of people who are housed through Housing First remain housed a year after being rapidly rehoused.

Pulliam says that Pittsburg has also seen success with the Housing First program through the Wesley House.

“If someone comes in and they don’t have anything, our first step is to try to get them into a house so they can get a job and some stability,” Pulliam said. “Getting them into a house first is the key to the program. After that they can get the things they further need like medical care, mental health services or drug and alcohol treatment if that’s what’s needed.”