Lord’s Diner coordinates with city, other groups to boost their effectiveness

Individual members of an orchestra must hit the correct notes at the right times, tempos, tones and tenors to play beautiful music. Similarly, when it comes to assisting people who lack adequate housing, help from various corners will be more effective as part of a coordinated effort, said Emily Thome, director of The Lord’s Diner.

For years, she said, officials with the City of Wichita have discussed strategies to maximize the effectiveness of the help offered to people experiencing homelessness in Wichita by seeking to harmonize the efforts of the nonprofit organizations that help them. Now that project is taking shape. 

On Dec. 3, The Lord’s Diner figuratively joined a larger band – providing food to the Emergency Winter Shelter that will transition into the Multi-Agency Center (MAC) for Homelessness. “The City of Wichita has looked to other cities and is modeling its approach after some really great success stories,” she Thome said.

For The Lord’s Diner, it means expanding its operations so that it not only continues to operate its main facility at 520 N. Broadway in Wichita and seven other locations, but now provides meals to the city’s emergency winter shelter as part of a test run for that broader and coordinated undertaking. 

“Many agencies are doing a lot of really great things in Wichita, and we want to avoid duplicating services,” Thome said. “That way our community’s resources are best utilized.”

This year, the city’s emergency winter shelter is located at the former Park Elementary School at 1025 North Main, a facility that also is in the process of being reconfigured into the MAC for homelessness, she said. 

“Wichita has had an emergency winter shelter for a long time, but it has never had a 24/7, 365-day walk-in shelter for anyone looking for a place to stay,” Thome said. “We and many, many other homeless services, agencies, nonprofits and businesses have agreed to help the city. We are all going to collaborate and work together to create a space where people experiencing homelessness can go to access multiple — or hopefully, all — the resources they need.”

For The Lord’s Diner, that means providing food at another location downtown. The biggest impact on The Lord’s Diner is a change in its hours of operation at the Broadway location, she said. “Now The Lord’s Diner will be open from 5:30 to 7:00,” Thome said. 

The shorter time window will shrink the likelihood of guests eating at both the shelter and The Lord’s Diner, she said. “Our community could put those resources to better use,” Thome said. 

Thome said the quantity of people who often eat at both locations was unclear, but added that The Lord’s Diner was working to address the reasons they do so.  

“We are making sure people get enough food at the Emergency Winter Shelter by giving good portions and well-rounded meals,” she said. 

“It affects our kitchen staff, because they have to separate out some of the food, but in theory we are not making much more food, because people who would eat here are now eating there,” she said. “It also affects one of the truck routes, because it is now dropping off food at the Emergency Winter Shelter. But other than that, it’s pretty simple and does not really change much.”

Since individuals who frequent The Lord’s Diner are by no means limited to Wichita’s homeless population, Thome said it might help the downtown location better serve those patrons. 

“Many of the people who come to our downtown location are not seeking shelter services, but are trying to make it month to month, and we allow them to save on food so they can spend money on rent and utilities,” she said. “We can be more intentional, conversational, and relational with them. We will remain a safety net and a place for community and love, which is a deep need for every human being. The Lord’s Diner will always be there to provide that.”

Thome said The Lord’s Diner staff is excited to continue collaboration with other nonprofit groups and the city in an effort to be more effective for people experiencing homelessness.