The City of Topeka’s Property Maintenance, Community Outreach Bureau, and Water Pollution Control will begin abatement of the next section of the unsheltered camp on Monday, March 3, 2025. Crews will clear sanitation and health hazards in the section of land along the river between the Sardou Bridge and Soldier Creek.
As cleanup is expected to impact unsheltered individuals that have been camping in the area, the Behavioral Health Unit and the city’s partners have been in routine contact with the individuals to help them prepare. City staff establish connections with the individuals to refer them to a range of community resources regularly, that address each individual’s unique situation.
“Equity Access Shelter will complete an assessment with each impacted individual and ensure they are on the housing waitlist if they aren’t already,” said Housing Services Director Carrie Higgins. “We will talk through what options are available based on their specific needs and circumstances and connect them to those resources. We also work closely with the Capital City Outreach Teams to ensure consistent engagement with our unsheltered neighbors.”
Planning for this phase of the abatement began in 2024, and is not a result of the ordinance change in February 2025. As is standard procedure, city staff posted notice of abatement in the area during the week of February 24.
“Our goal with abatements is to take a people first approach. While official notices are going out this week, we always make sure the unhoused impacted individuals were aware of what was going on way in advance, so they knew what options they have,” said Major Mike Cross. “We care about these individuals and want to make sure they are getting the services they need.”
The city values the work partner organizations to serve our unsheltered neighbors, and will continue to prioritize the safety of all residents and enforce health and safety ordinances as needed. A complete list of city resources can be found here: https://www.topeka.org/housing-services/#gsc.tab=0
