This will be a big year for Depaul USA and Leavenworth Attainable Housing. Vacant lots that once represented neighborhood decline will come alive with new homes and residents. Since their merger in January 2022, this Vincentian collaboration has expanded from managing a handful of properties to overseeing 19 houses—13 owned and six managed. Now, thanks to a grant from the state of Kansas, they will build four new duplexes to join the one they built in 2024.
The Strength of Grassroots
Jennifer Messner of Depaul USA, who helped secure the one-million-dollar grant from the state of Kansas, highlights Leavenworth’s grassroots beginnings as the strength of the efforts here. Leavenworth Attainable Housing emerged from the Interfaith Community of Hope, “which serves the Leavenworth community so diligently and passionately with emergency shelter and basic needs,” she says. They recognized “an incredible need for more affordable housing and longer-term systemic solutions.”
Chuck Levesque, President of Depaul USA, says of this latest project: “We’re not changing the entire system of affordable housing in the United States, even in Kansas, but we are giving people a chance to break the bonds of poverty by providing housing. If you have housing, you can work on other things like your health, your education, your employment.”
This project will achieve more than just new construction. “We’re trying to take vacant lots where no one’s invested for years,” Levesque explains. “We’re trying to fill in these empty lots in northeast Leavenworth. I think it will make a difference in how the neighborhood looks and provide very nice housing for somebody who’s precariously housed or unhoused right now.”
Local Investment
Across America, communities face a severe shortage of affordable housing. Rising costs have outpaced wage growth, leaving millions of Americans spending more than 30% of their income on housing or facing homelessness. In smaller communities like Leavenworth, the crisis may be less visible but equally devastating, particularly for low-income residents and families.
The city of Leavenworth has been crucial to the efforts of Depaul USA/Leavenworth Attainable Housing by supporting zoning issues and, in the past, providing $600,000 in funding for buying and rehabilitating houses.
Collaboration between the local government and Depaul USA/Leavenworth Attainable Housing makes sense, according to Sister Amy Willcott, SCL, director of Leavenworth Attainable Housing. “Helping people find housing affordably,” she explains, “contributes to the local economy. People in these houses will contribute to Leavenworth, which helps increase our community connections and the neighborhood connections built in northeast Leavenworth, the most economically depressed part of the city.”
The path forward still holds challenges. Before the first shovel breaks ground in June 2025, the team must navigate environmental studies, property purchases, and construction bids. The reimbursable grant requires careful financial management throughout the building process, with completion projected for June 2026.
The Vincentian Influence
This work embodies the Vincentian charism, which combines direct service with efforts to address the root causes of suffering and is guided by several core principles: respecting the inherent dignity of every person, providing both immediate relief and long-term solutions, empowering rather than creating dependency, and seeing service as a mutual exchange that transforms both the giver and receiver.
By June 2026, when the final duplex is completed, eight more families or individuals will have found their way home. In a neighborhood where empty lots once symbolized abandonment, new life will emerge—a living example of the Vincentian spirit of compassionate, systemic change.
Small Spaces with Big Impact
Each 450-square-foot duplex unit offers much more than its modest dimensions suggest. These complete homes feature thoughtfully designed elements:
- Open-concept living room and kitchen
- Full bathroom with modern fixtures
- Bedroom with closet space
- Stackable washer/dryer unit
- Energy-efficient appliances and systems
They’re designed primarily for single adults or couples—possibly with a small child—for people who might otherwise fall through the cracks of existing housing programs. “They’re small,” Sister Amy admits with a smile. “You have to love your roommate very much.” But in those small spaces, people will find something immeasurable: dignity, security, and a place to belong.
