McPherson Hosts Fifth Annual Housing Conference
"No Place Like Home" event brings together community leaders to address local housing challenges and solutions
McPherson will welcome housing advocates, community leaders and stakeholders from across the region for the fifth annual "No Place Like Home" Housing Conference on Wednesday, September 25, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the McPherson Community Building.
The conference, designed to address housing challenges in McPherson County's population of 30,012 residents, features keynote speaker Carissa Paxton from the Hutchinson Housing Development Partnership. Paxton, who leverages experience in program development, governmental affairs and real estate, will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
The event offers two educational tracks throughout the day. Track 1 focuses on development topics, including federal home loan bank programs presented by Dustie Humphrey of PHLBank and community growth strategies from Doug Williams of Grow Hays. Track 2 emphasizes housing stability, featuring Dr. Lara Vanderhoof of Central Christian College discussing "The Set Free Movement" and Christina Ashie Guidry from United Community Services presenting on the Kansas Housing Advocacy Network.
Additional presentations will cover land trusts, workforce development and housing stakeholder collaboration. Donna Schenck-Hamlin will discuss sustainable housing approaches through the Workforce Solar Housing Partnership, while Tucky Allen from Kansas WorkForceONE will address business development connections to housing initiatives.
The conference represents a collaboration among multiple organizations, including the McPherson Chamber of Commerce, McPherson County Community Foundation, McPherson Housing Coalition, Prairie Land Realtors, the City of McPherson and United Way of McPherson. Participating municipalities include Inman, Lindsborg and Marquette, along with the McPherson County Housing Task Force.
Attendees can participate in person or join online using provided digital access. The event aims to foster community partnerships and develop actionable solutions for local housing challenges.
Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below: