Homelessness: A Neglected Epidemic

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Past Event: April 10, 2025

The national homeless population has increased by more than 12% since 2022 and is still rising. One in five homeless individuals suffer from substance abuse. Local economic factors and mental health issues continue to drive individuals into homelessness. It begs the questions, what are communities willing to do to help the homeless and how can we more effectively challenge the stereotypes associated with homelessness?

American Public Square and the 2025 Student Ambassadors hosted a program to explore what the government is doing to impact homeless communities, whether discriminatory biases exist in our policies and programs and how communities can effectively support unhoused individuals.

Chris Green, executive editor of The Journal, moderated the discussion. Panelists included:

• • Anna Bailey, senior policy analyst – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan research and policy institute
  • Stephanie Boyer, CEO – reStart, a local organization dedicated to ending homelessness
  • Josh Henges, homelessness prevention coordinator – City of Kansas City, Missouri
  • Paul Webster, executive director – LA Alliance for Human Rights and Visiting Fellow – Cicero Institute, a nonpartisan advocacy organization for state-level policies

The APS Civics Education Initiative Student Initiative takes the APS mission into schools and partnerships with teachers, students and administrators at both the high school and college level. The initiative includes a custom-developed high school curriculum focused on learning about misinformation, disinformation, and bias, and college-level internship opportunities that enable students to produce compelling and relevant programs on significant and difficult issues in our community.

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RECOMMENDED READING AND VIEWING

• OpEd: Taking care of the mental health of leaders who help the homeless | Eric West, junior – University Academy and 2024-25 APS Student Ambassador
• State of Homelessness: 2024 Edition | National Alliance to End Homelessness – Recommended by program panelists, Anna Bailey and Stephanie Boyer
• The National Low Income Housing Coalition |  Recommended by program panelist, Stephanie Boyer
• Rejecting Housing First: Why America’s Homelessness Strategy Failed and How to Fix It | Cicero Institute – Recommended by program panelist, Paul Webster
• At a Kansas City street corner in crisis, here’s how library staff keep doors open to all | The Kansas City Star – Authored by Roving Reporter, Laura Bauer
• Criminalizing Homelessness: Grants Pass vs. Johnson | Mr. Beat via YouTube – Produced by student workday featured speaker, Matthew Beat
• Is Housing First a Cure for Homelessness? | The Journal: A Civics Issue Magazine – Recommended by APS Program Director, Tricia Maxfield
• In coldest weather, housing insecure people in JoCo have few options to stay warm | The Johnson County Post – Recommended by Fact Checker, Leah Wankum

Chris Green blends the techniques of investigative data, civic and solutions journalism to provide trustworthy information that fuels impactful dialogue. He began his career with Kansas newspapers, first covering local government and then the Kansas Legislature. As the executive editor of The Journal, a civic issues magazine published by the Kansas Leadership Center, he draws on a wide range of influences to shape a nationally award-winning publication that productively tackles hot-button issues.

During his time at The Journal, he’s led a nationally award-winning reporting team that earned recognition in public service journalism. He’s also been a key supporter of Wichita’s growing journalism collaborative and helped bring Wichita Documenters, a program that trains and pays residents to cover local government meetings, to reality.

A native Kansan and graduate of Baker University in Baldwin City, Chris also earned a master’s degree in international politics from Scotland’s University of Edinburgh. He and his wife, Sarah, enjoy exploring both inside and well beyond Kansas and have begun a quest to visit all 50 U.S. state capitols. They are the parents of a son, Calvin, born in 2018.

Anna Bailey is a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan research and policy institute. She leverages rigorous research and analysis to shape debates and affect affordable housing and homelessness policy, both nationally and in states. She holds expertise in federal rental assistance, homelessness, Medicaid, and behavioral health policy. Her work is grounded in the belief that everyone — regardless of race, gender, immigration status, disability status or other identities — should have the resources they need to afford a home that meets their needs.

Anna began her career in a community mental health setting working with people experiencing and at risk of homelessness. She gained experience at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and in both the U.S. House and Senate while studying law. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from the University of Kansas and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.

Stephanie Boyer is a dedicated social work professional with over 25 years of experience advocating for increased access to behavioral health care and housing for underserved and vulnerable populations. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has been a driving force in developing innovative programs that provide essential support to individuals and families in crisis.

As the Chief Executive Officer of reStart, Inc., Stephanie leads one of Kansas City’s most comprehensive nonprofit agencies serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness. reStart provides a continuum of housing services and wraparound support to help individuals exit homelessness and secure permanent housing. Under her leadership, reStart continues to expand its impact through strategic partnerships and evidence-based solutions to address homelessness in the region.

Before joining reStart, Stephanie served as the Director of ReDiscover’s Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center (KC-ATC), where she played a pivotal role in launching and overseeing the center’s operations. In collaboration with key community stakeholders, she helped establish KC-ATC as a diversion program for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises, reducing reliance on emergency services and the criminal justice system by connecting individuals to immediate behavioral health care and housing resources.

Stephanie also spent a decade at the Kansas City Municipal Court as the Deputy Court Administrator, where she enhanced the city’s specialty treatment courts, including drug court, veterans’ court, mental health court, and domestic violence court. She played a critical role in expanding access to treatment and diversion programs, ensuring individuals received the appropriate support within the justice system.

Throughout her career, Stephanie has remained committed to creating pathways to stability for those in need. Her expertise in program development, crisis intervention, and community collaboration continues to drive meaningful change in Kansas City’s housing and behavioral health landscape.

Josh Henges has dedicated his career to creating sustainable housing solutions and ending homelessness in Kansas City. As the city’s first homelessness prevention “czar,” he leads community-wide strategies, collaborating with public and private organizations to develop policies and infrastructure that provide lasting support for the unhoused.

His journey began with homeless youth at KidsTLC, followed by roles at Artists Helping the Homeless and Reconciliation Services. At the Veterans Community Project, he managed a village of 49 tiny homes and helped over 100 veterans secure permanent housing. Committed to sustainable housing development, Josh continues working toward a functional end to homelessness in Kansas City.

Paul Webster is a recognized subject matter expert on homelessness and government initiatives aimed at reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness. He currently serves as the executive director of the LA Alliance for Human Rights, a grassroots organization that successfully litigated against the City and County of Los Angeles for their inadequate response to the homelessness crisis. He is also a visiting fellow with the Cicero Institute.

Previously, Paul held the position of senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where he specialized in homelessness assistance programs and the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paul’s dedication to combating homelessness began during his tenure as Vice President of Public Policy at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, followed by his role as Vice President of Solutions for Change, a San Diego County-based program focused on supporting homeless families. Over the years, Paul has advocated at the programmatic, municipal, county, regional, state, and federal levels, working to improve public policies related to homelessness, public safety, mental health, substance use disorders, and affordable housing.

Paul holds a Bachelor’s degree in communication from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master’s degree in public policy from the University of Southern California. He resides in northern San Diego County.

ROVING REPORTER

Laura Bauer is an investigative reporter for The Kansas City Star. She’s been a journalist for nearly 32 years, 20 of those at The Star.

Over the years, Bauer has covered everything from crime and child welfare to homelessness, government secrecy, unlicensed boarding schools in southern Missouri and major breaking news and natural disasters. She focuses on stories that make a difference in our community and both states, exposing wrongdoing and holding leaders accountable.

Bauer has received national recognition for such work, including several Investigative Reporter and Editors honors, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (for a project on Human Trafficking which she wrote with two colleagues), Pulitzer Prize finalist for Public Service (Bauer was one of two lead reporters on “Why so secret, Kansas?) and the National Headliner Award for her serial narrative of a young boy who fought to survive and heal after years of abuse and neglect.

FACT CHECKER

Leah Wankum is deputy editor of the Johnson County Post. A mid-Missouri native, she earned her master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. She has written and edited for multiple newspapers and magazines across Missouri and in the Kansas City area. Her graduate paper earned accolades at the second annual Walter Cronkite Conference on Media Ethics and Integrity at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

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