Kansas bishops call for reforms to improve housing in state

Published: 2004-02-18

TOPEKA, Kan. (CNS) -- Concern about the large number of Kansans who live in inadequate housing has led the Catholic bishops of Kansas to recommend significant state and federal actions to remedy the problem. The recommendations are contained in "Nowhere to Lay His Head: Housing in Kansas 2004," a major statement that the bishops released at a press conference Feb. 12 at the state Capitol in Topeka. "We are followers of Jesus Christ, and he is unusually sensitive to those who have nowhere to lay their heads, and so are we," said Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore of Dodge City in an interview with The Leaven, Kansas City archdiocesan newspaper, before the press conference. In their 10-page statement, the bishops said the state's housing problems were the result of a number of factors, including aging housing stock, rising energy costs, fragmented planning and low wages. The bishops cited 2000 U.S. Census figures showing that there are 1,043,808 households in Kansas -- with 320,623 being renters and 723,285 being homeowners. An estimated 40 percent of the renters and 17 percent of homeowners have problems with the cost of housing.

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