Wichita, Kansas - Time is running out for Streetlight Ministries in Wichita. The organization has been operating out of a garage in Wichita, giving food once a month to the needy.
"We started out on the street just handing out sacks to homeless people, water bottles and things like that," explains Streetlight founder Sam Boxberger. "At one point we decided to convert this garage into a storage place for food."
But some neighbors complained of too much traffic in the area when the ministry handed out food once a month on Topeka street. So the city office of inspection came to check it out. That office of inspection told Streetlight it could not operate in a residential area.
"City zoning said that this is a residential area and we can't hand out food," says Boxberger. "My first reaction was that it was a mistake. But, no, we studied. I looked up all the zoning maps and I checked it out and it is a residential area. We are about half a block from commercial (zoning) and we're just over the line."
So Streetlight Ministries began looking for a new place. They are not finding anything on a budget. Still, some city council members wanted to know if there was a way to let the ministry continue.
"They serve a large amount of people. Surprising," says city council member James Clendenin. "So we just decided to talk to them (office of city inspection) and we decided to grant them a sixty day extension that would last them to the middle of June and, hopefully, help them find a place to continue serving."
But the clock is ticking and the ministry is not finding another place to help the hungry. The reason is cost. Streetlight is on a minimal budget, operating out of a garage.
So Tuesday's food donation to the hungry was the last.
"We're taking the month of June off and then we're going to start looking for a new location," explains Boxberger. "Like I said, our issue is we are a low-budget operation and we can't afford to pay a lot of rent. Most of the buildings we've looked at in this area are $900 a month to rent and if we did that we wouldn't have any money left for food."
Some on the city council hope the group can find a way to continue to help.
"I don't know what the next step would be," says Clendenin. "We were hoping within sixty days they would be able to find a place to set up temporarily. So we'll have to look and see what the options are. Not sure what they would be right now."
Boxberger hopes someone can step in and help Streetlight find a place on the cheap.
"Well, we serve from 120 to 150 people every month," says Boxberger. "We'll have to see."
If you want to help, check out the Streetlight Ministries web site.
www.streetlightministriesinc.com
