COMBINING HOUSING & EMPLOYMENT.

The Roots of New Beginnings, Inc.

In 1933 the doors were opened to a homeless camp for men seeking work. It was one  of three sites in Kansas. The south main street location had space for 500 men. When the WPA began, these men received real wage paying jobs. The men's talents provided infrastructure in the community; buildings and landscaping work done in Carey Park, work at the municipal airport, bridge work, canals and construction of buildings at the state fairgrounds in our community. They were also responsible for planting/building shelter belts to limit future dust bowls withing the county. These formerly homeless workers were also instrumental in starting the city's hot school lunch program... New Beginnings carries on and building on this tradition. 

• 1989     Housing for the Homeless opens a transitional shelter in an old boarding house

• 2000   Housing for the Homeless becomes New Beginnings Inc. and builds new shelter that doubles its capacity

• 2005   New Beginnings builds its first tax credit housing as solution to homelessness

• 2006   New Beginnings builds 9 houses with tax credits for future purchase

• 2008   New Beginnings builds another transitional housing complex using green/energy saving technology

• 2013    New Beginnings opens NOEL Lodge - an emergency overnight shelter

• 2015    New Beginnings becomes a Community Development Organization

• 2017    New Beginnings formalizes its jobs program into City wide Transitional Jobs Program

• 2021    New Beginnings helps create the city's first detox/inpatient treatment facility