All Hands On Deck (AHOD), Mobile Access Partnership and Let’s Help to Pilot One-Stop Shop to Aid People Experiencing Homelessness
May 22, 2025, TOPEKA, KS—At today’s fourth anniversary celebration of the Compassion Strategies Mobile Access Partnership (MAP), All Hands On Deck, the campaign to end chronic homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County, announced that MAP would be an integral part of the campaign’s first pilot of a One-Stop Homeless Resource Center. (See the Facebook Live video of the press conference here: https://www.facebook.com/100069945490595/videos/732022515914421 )
MAP is a collaborative approach to providing mobile access to medical, social, and behavioral health services for Topeka's unsheltered homeless population, as well as those whose housing situation is precarious. MAP expands the work that partnering agencies are doing to give at-risk adults and families a hand-up as they seek to move forward.
In July, Let’s Help, at its new location near 6th and MacVicar, will serve as the sole site for MAP as part of the One-Stop pilot. Joining the One-Stop will be Impact Avenues, a collaborative initiative to address the need of students experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County since 2019.
Since 2021, MAP has grown to include services from
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Valeo Behavioral Health Care: mobile shower and laundry trailer
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Topeka Rescue Mission: mobile kitchen and clothing trailer
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Street Dog Coalition: mobile veterinary care
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Shawnee County Health Department: resource and logistical support, evaluation of health needs and testing
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Stormont Vail Mobile Clinic: regular check-ups (blood pressure, diabetes screening, labs), etc.; preventive/wellness care; referrals to specialty care
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Topeka Police Department: City ID Program, bridging the gap for those who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford or have the proper documentation to apply for a state-issued ID
Impact Avenues, led by the City of Topeka, will also integrate its work into the Let’s Help location. Impact Avenues is a collaborative effort that focuses on significantly reducing student homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County through leveraging dozens of partnerships and using a collective impact model and housing navigators to remove barriers to housing for students and their families.
All Hands On Deck, the Campaign to End Chronic Homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County by 2030, is led by United Way of Kaw Valley and Compassion Strategies.
The All Hands On Deck Campaign to End Chronic Homelessness by 2030 comprises a multi-sector coalition of teams under the guidance of “coaches.” A strategic development team guides the work of the coalition, vetting interventions and approaches while listening carefully to feedback from the community through the sector teams.
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About All Hands On Deck
All Hands On Deck is developing and mobilizing a multi-sector community coalition framework to address and end chronic homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County by 2030. Learn more at https://www.compassionstrategies.org/allhandsondeck.
About United Way of Kaw Valley
United Way of Kaw Valley (UWKV) serves as a grant maker, community convenor, volunteer organizer and strategic partner for the nonprofit sector in Shawnee, Douglas, Jackson and Jefferson counties in northeast Kansas. Donor dollars are invested locally and support a broad range of initiatives that benefit the whole family in education, financial stability and health, as well as racial equity and family supports/basic needs. Learn more at https://www.uwkawvalley.org.
About Compassion Strategies
Compassion Strategies believes that everyone has value and deserves a safe and stable place to call home. Its approach is built on collective empathy and understanding, as it prioritizes the needs of our neighbors experiencing homelessness with a compassionate mindset. Compassion Strategies works together with community partners and leaders to address the root causes of homelessness and provide effective, evidence-based solutions. Learn more at https://www.compassionstrategies.org.
About MAP (Mobile Access Partnership)
Compassion Strategies Mobile Access Partnership (MAP) is a collaborative approach to providing mobile access to medical, social, and behavioral health services for Topeka's unsheltered homeless population, as well as those whose housing situation is precarious. MAP expands the work that partnering agencies are doing to give at-risk adults and families a hand-up as they seek to move forward.
About Let’s Help
Founded in 1969, Let’s Help is a not-for-profit organization committed to helping people achieve self-sufficiency and break the cycle of poverty. Their programs reach tens of thousands of people each year and involve hundreds of volunteers. Together, they are building a better community.
Let’s Help works closely with other helping agencies in Shawnee County and provides referrals when needed. Applicants for services are carefully screened to ensure there is no unnecessary duplication of services among agencies.
About Impact Avenues
Impact Avenues is based on a program in Wyandotte County called Impact KCK, which was successful in reducing student homelessness by 50 percent in just a few years. Impact Avenues seeks to significantly reduce student homelessness in Topeka through using collective impact – a model that removes barriers to accomplish goals, reduces duplication of efforts in the community, and collects data to measure success. Learn more at https://www.topeka.org/impact-avenues/
For more information, contact:
Brett Martin
UWKV Vice President of Community Impact and All Hands On Deck Campaign Chair
785.581.0231
E-mail: bmartin@uwkawvalley.org
Barry Feaker
CEO, Compassion Strategies and All Hands On Deck Strategic Consultant
785.554.4777
Email: bfeaker@compassionstrategies.org