Justice Together

Justice Together, DART’s newest affiliate, launched after a year of building a groundswell of support across a diverse range of faith communities in Sedgwick County, Kansas. 

Starting in January 2023, a sponsoring committee made up of over 50 faith communities began laying the foundation for a permanent justice ministry organization. Over the course of the year the sponsoring committee elected interim officers, adopted bylaws, and approved a formal process for membership. 

Our Listening Process kicked off with 202 lay leaders trained throughout August and September. These leaders held 112 house meetings, engaging 955 people in small group discussions on the injustices that kept them up at night, effectively taking a pulse of the people and surfacing the issues that matter most in our community. Our inaugural Listening Process successfully recruited over 686 Justice Ministry Network Members ready to do justice together. 

With the 10 most prevalent issues surfaced, 496 people voted to narrow our list to the top 3 issues. On the night of our Covenant Assembly, 475 people came together and cast their ballots to select our permanent name,  elect a diverse slate of executive officers, and voted to set our first two problem areas: homelessness and mental health. 

On December 12th, over 150 people attended our Research Process Kickoff to learn how they could take a meaningful role in exploring the problems of mental health and homelessness in our community, and what can be done to make a significant change. Currently, 168 people are engaged in research meetings with experts and stakeholders on the issues and are meeting regularly to better understand the issues and craft impactful and winnable solutions to the problems we face. 

With a growing number of 34 member congregations, Justice Together has recruited 846 Justice Ministry Network members who are committed to living more deeply into their faith and growing our power. 

Ahavath Achim: The Hebrew Congregation of Wichita
Aldersgate United Methodist Church
Andover United Methodist Church
Bahá’í Faith
Calvary United Methodist Church
Chapel Hill United Methodist Church
Christ Lutheran
College Hill United Methodist Church
Dellrose United Methodist Church
East Heights United Methodist Church
First Church of the Brethren
First United Methodist Church
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Wichita
Heart of Christ United Methodist Church
Hillside Christian Church
Mennonite Church of the Servant
Partners for Wichita
Plymouth Congregational Church
Riverside Christian Church
St Mark United Methodist Church
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church
St. John’s Episcopal Church
St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church
St. Paul Lutheran Church
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
St. James Episcopal
The Dwelling Church
The Neighboring Movement
University United Methodist
Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church
Woodlawn United Methodist Church
West Heights United Methodist Church
Hope Mennonite Church

We are pushing city and county leaders to implement effective solutions for mental health and homelessness. Our proposed mental health solutions focus on implementing the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model for the COMCARE Community Crisis Center; better mental health crisis care; and providing transportation assistance to access necessary health care. Our proposed homelessness solutions center around a ‘housing first’ approach; fully funding the Multi Agency Center; and creating a municipal ID program.