Dozens of people line up under a baking sun in 90-degree heat, just for a chance at a bed at Wichita’s primary low-barrier homeless shelter, Second Light. People gather every day to vie for one of the 24 open beds.
At 4 p.m., security guards usher people, mostly men, in one by one. Once the 24th lucky individual makes it past the doors, everyone else will, likely, have to find a spot outside to sleep.
The daily line-up outside Second Light illustrates a math problem for the community that those upset about the persistence of visible homelessness — private citizens and elected officials alike — might not know about…