Johnson County holds informational public meetings on proposed Homeless Services Center [Video]

JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KCTV) – It was a packed house at the Sunset Drive Office Building in Olathe, Kansas, Wednesday night for an informational public meeting on a proposed homeless shelter that Johnson County hopes to open next year.

The shelter, called the Homeless Services Center, would convert a three-story old La Quinta hotel into 50 individual rooms for adults to stay between 30-90 days and 25 studio apartments for transitional housing for adults to stay up to 24 months.

“This is a community-wide problem,” said Mike Kelly, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners Chairman. “It transcends beyond cities and therefore it takes a community-wide approach.”

It’s a project that has been years in the making. The plan for a shelter first began in 2018, but attempts stalled due to lack of funds according to the county. The county says funds are coming from federal COVID funds available to …