community

Wichita Children’s Home

The new campus for the Wichita Children’s Home replaces an outgrown and outdated 125-year-old location for the program. Spanning over 13 acres and featuring nearly 70,000-square-feet of new construction, the three new buildings are a safe and welcoming place for Wichita’s neglected youth. Built in three phases, the new campus opened with the 32-unit BRIDGES Apartments. The BRIDGES program focuses on acclimating adolescents in the Home to a normal life on their own as young adults. With that mission in mind, the building was designed much like a traditional apartment layout. It also includes several key shared amenities, such as a teaching kitchen, licensed daycare, study room, classroom and a great room for social gatherings.

2016 KANSTRUCT Award of Honor

Phase II features the shelter and administration complex. This 43,500-square-foot building houses all of the staff, administration, intake functions, and boys/girls living wings. Each wing is equipped to be occupied by 28 teenagers in one- or two-bed rooms and has a shared dining and great room, supervisor offices and an outdoor patio.

The final phase of the Campus Master Plan is a 5,400-square-foot multipurpose building that serves as a place for recreational and educational activities to enhance the experience of the Children’s Home residents. The program includes a fitness center, classroom space for on-campus learning and a gymnasium that serves as a venue for a variety of activities, including graduation ceremonies for youth that complete the transition to independence.