Struggling residents may get homes painted for free

The city of Topeka is finalizing details that will bring 300 to 400 young people to the capital city this summer to paint about 60 houses for struggling homeowners.

Now they need homes to paint.

Shane Wilson, program intake coordinator with the city's Neighborhood Relations department, said Group Cares, a Colorado-based organization, will bring its team to Topeka from July 7-13.

City officials decided to reach out to homeowners, who must meet specific criteria, in the North Topeka East and West areas, as well as the Ward-Meade area, because the Seaman school district agreed to provide accommodations for the young volunteers, Wilson said. Those areas are close to the Seaman district.

Seaman will house the volunteers at Northern Hills Elementary School, and Group Missions Trips may contract for additional services, including food. They will contract with the district for custodial services and pay for supplies and utility costs, said district spokeswoman Candace LeDuc.

Seaman board director Frank Henderson said he became aware of the domestic mission project when talking with a city official and wanted to support it.

"I was very excited as I thought about low-income homeowners in North Topeka that could benefit from this experience," he said. "Our board of education believes in the importance of community service and civic engagement by our students. We also believe in modeling what this looks like."

The next big step, now that the kids have a place to stay, is finding homes for them to paint, Wilson said. There is no cost to the homeowner, as the city has partnered with Habitat for Humanity, Federal Home Loan Bank, Advisors Excel and Capitol Federal to supply the paint.

Applications to get a house painted must be in by the end of January, he said, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The city has sent out about 250 letters to homeowners in the areas, posted in online applications and is reaching out to homeowners in those neighborhoods who have had a code violation.

But the city has had difficulty getting applications, Wilson said. That could be due to the requirements, which include that a house can't be over 28 feet in height, all household members must have a background check and an adult must be present during the week the painting occurs.

"Since this is a faith-based organization, they typically like a homeowner to be there so the youth can go talk to the homeowner and get homeowner stories," he said. "These kids come from all over the United States. It's a good experience for them to talk to people from different backgrounds, different histories."

Wilson has been excited to see the program occur to support struggling Topeka residents. And it can "drastically change" the aesthetics of neighborhoods, he said.

"I know the low-income and elderly and disabled, those down on their luck, we want them to have pride in their homes," Wilson said. "Pride in where they live, pride in their neighborhoods. I think this program will help them have that."

Anyone interested in applying to have their house painted can fill out a form online at the Neighborhood Relations website in the "Brush Up Topeka" section, or they can call Wilson at (785) 368-4492.