Police Homeless Outreach Team raising funds to earn challenge grant

The Wichita Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team on Wednesday began its efforts in pursuit of a challenge grant from a private foundation.

Wichita police Officer Nate Schweithale said the foundation wants to remain anonymous and that it would match any funds raised by HOT, up to $4,000.

“We’ve always had small donations coming through to help us operate,” he said. “This is probably the biggest one that’s come forward to us. That’s pretty much enough to let us run for another year or so.”

The money will be used to pay for administrative costs and to help homeless people in the community, Schweithale said. That includes things like purchasing a week’s worth of bus passes or providing phones for homeless people.

“There’s a lot of these gaps we see that we’d like to fill and be able to help out,” Schweithale said. “Sometimes they’re minor things, but they can be major things when you’re homeless.”

The team has set up a 501(c)(3) fund to facilitate its fundraising efforts. The challenge will last until November.

Checks may be addressed to “Wichita Police Department Fiscal Affairs” and sent to 455 N. Main, Fourth Floor, Wichita, KS 67202. On the memo line, donors should write “H.O.T. Bus Fund.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Police Homeless Outreach Team raising funds to earn challenge grant."