Motivated to help one of Wichita’s most environmentally impacted neighborhoods, Safe Streets Wichita is assembling a coalition of community members, partners and local advocates to help build DIY air purifiers for students in special education classrooms at Gordon Parks Academy in Northeast Wichita.
The event will be held on Sat., Aug. 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Safe Streets, 1200 E. Waterman St., Wichita.
This hands-on event addresses the urgent need for healthier indoor air in schools serving students who are disproportionately affected by pollution and chronic health conditions. It also raises awareness about the long-overlooked environmental injustices facing parts of Northeast Wichita.
“By coming together to build these purifiers, neighbors are taking a meaningful step toward ensuring that children and educators have a safer, cleaner place to learn and grow,” said Aonya Kendric Barnett, founder of Safe Streets Wichita, Inc.
Safe Streets works in Wichita to help people battling substance abuse stay clean and out of danger. Kendricks says addressing substance abuse, health, safety and behavior must include addressing the conditions people live in.
“Pollution, disinvestment, lack of access, stress, and silence; these all feed into poor health outcomes, substance use, overdose, and suicide,” says Kendricks. “That’s what our work is tackling head-on. We’re building momentum with prevention programs that meet people where they are and address the root causes, air quality, mental health, connection, safety, and community trust.
“We’re not just addressing symptoms, we’re confronting the systems. And we’re doing it with care, intention, and real community presence.”
This is the second air purifier build hosted by Safe Streets Wichita. The first, held in March 2025, focused on elders in the community and led to the construction of 15 free air purifiers. Built using the Corsi-Rosenthal Box model, these devices are affordable, easy to assemble, and highly effective at removing harmful particles like smoke, dust, allergens, and airborne viruses – making them especially important in under-resourced areas.
Safe Streets is planning another DIY build in the fall that will allow individuals to build and take home their own air purifier. Stay tuned for information on that event.
For this initiative, Safe Streets Wichita, Inc., partners with Mask Bloc ICT, and receives “generous” support from the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation. For more information or to get involved, contact Kendrick Barnett, at aonya@safestreetswichita.org, or visit www.safestreetswichita.org.
