Center of Hope director hopes crash into Wichita building won’t affect services

Center of Hope, a Wichita nonprofit that helps prevent homelessness, had a vehicle crash through its building and into the lobby on Tuesday morning, the director said.

The agency, 400 N. Emporia, had a vehicle crash through the south corner of its building at around 3 a.m., director George Dinkel said. Dinkel said he was told the two people in the vehicle walked away from the wreck. The organization helps people from being evicted from their homes and to keep the utilities on.

Dinkel hopes the crash won’t take away from their mission. He expects to be open Thursday only for scheduled appointments and be back to operating somewhat normally next week.

When asked how they would be open, Dinkel said: “By the grace of God, I don’t know.”

Pictures from Dinkel show drywall, insulation and furniture thrown across the lobby from the crash. Dinkel said that when he arrived at around 7 a.m., the opening in the building had been boarded up by National Catastrophe Restoration.

“They framed it. There is wood there,” Dinkel said, adding he would let people in the back door as a worst-case scenario. “It disrupts our business being able to help people. I’m just glad no one was hurt during the accident. Very grateful for that.”

This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 10:15 AM.