The City of Topeka released the results of its summer Point in Time Homeless Count Thursday. City spokesman Daniel Garrett issued a press release on Aug. 1, 2024 containing the results of this year’s second count of the homeless population in Topeka. As a result, city officials found nine additional homeless people living in the city since January 2024’s count. This second count of the homeless took place on July 17 and is meant to give a snapshot of conditions and circumstances surrounding the local homeless population. More than 40 people helped conduct this count. Garrett said 546 people and 433 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County. Of these, 59% are male while 40% are female and 216 are considered unsheltered or not living in an emergency shelter or transitional housing. “With the rising numbers of those experiencing homelessness nationwide, we believe it’s crucial to collect data more regularly,” said Carrie Higgins, housing services division director. “Given the warmer weather and anticipated increase, we are encouraged to see only a modest rise since January. The count also provides a valuable opportunity to connect individuals experiencing homelessness to services and resources in the community.” This second count helps ensure the City of Topeka can get the appropriate amount of funding to provide services to the homeless population from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A breakdown of this year’s count results, along with the results of earlier counts, can be found below: July 2024
People – 546
Households – 433
Veteran households – 46
Individuals in an emergency shelter – 255
Individuals in transitional housing – 75
Individuals who are unsheltered – 216
January 2024
People – 537
Households – 442
Veteran households – 47
Individuals in an emergency shelter – 276
Individuals in transitional housing – 58
Individuals who are unsheltered – 203
2023
People – 412
Households – 322
Veteran households – 25
Individuals in an emergency shelter – 194
Individuals in transitional housing – 61
Individuals who are unsheltered – 157
2022
People – 365
Households – 297
Veteran households – 37
Individuals in an emergency shelter – 163
Individuals in transitional housing – 54
Individuals who are unsheltered – 148
2021
People – 298
Households – 254
Veteran households – 16
Individuals in an emergency shelter – 155
Individuals in transitional housing – 38
Individuals who are unsheltered – 105
2020
People – 401
Households – 306
Veteran households – 40
Individuals in an emergency shelter – 254
Individuals in transitional housing – 51
Individuals who are unsheltered – 68
Source: KSNT 27 News

New options for housing are coming to Topeka. Tuesday, July 30, Topeka’s City Council approved having accessory dwelling units (ADU) within single-family zoning districts. ADU’s are already legal in multi-family districts and downtown districts. This will allow for a smaller independent houses to be on the same lot as a single-family home. The goal for this is to fill gaps in the city housing market and increase affordability. “We’ll have standards related to size, so there will be size limitations,” Planning Division Director Dan Warner said. “We’ll have requirements that one of the two units has to be owned or occupied, so meaning the owner has to live on the property. We’ll have some design review then also one additional parking spot off the street is required for the ADU.” Warner says rules for these accessory dwellings will be getting published next week.
Source: KSNT 27 News