As WAHC moves toward nonprofit status, we are intentionally building a leadership structure that gives people directly affected by housing insecurity a real voice in the organization’s decisions. The initial voting board members will be individuals who have personally experienced housing loss in Wichita or Sedgwick County within the last five years. This is a deliberate choice about who should hold decision-making power from the beginning.

People who have recently navigated housing insecurity in this community understand barriers, services, institutions, and systemic failures in ways that cannot be learned solely through education, professional experience, or reports. Their perspectives should not be added after priorities are already set. They should help determine those priorities, shape the organization’s direction, and participate directly in decisions about a community they belong to and understand firsthand.

At the same time, WAHC recognizes the value of professional knowledge and community expertise. Advocates, service providers, professionals, and others who fully support WAHC’s mission and approach may serve in advisory roles, offering guidance, specialized knowledge, and additional perspectives to support the voting board.

The goal is to bring those forms of knowledge together without allowing professional voices to overshadow the people most directly affected by housing insecurity. Those who have experienced housing loss should hold meaningful decision-making power, strengthened by the advice and expertise of professionals who support the mission.