photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A tree fell into the Homeless Resource Center at 10th and Kentucky streets on April 27, 2026.

After a storm caused a tree to fall onto the roof of the Homeless Resource Center near downtown Lawrence, the center’s executive director said Tuesday that the building was not damaged.

The storm brought heavy rain — up to 3 inches in the span of six hours — and strong winds across Douglas County on Monday morning. It flooded rural roads, caused a power outage at the University of Kansas and knocked down trees across Lawrence, including one that fell onto the Homeless Resource Center at 944 Kentucky St.

Brett Hartford, the center’s executive director, told the Journal-World that the tree did “absolutely nothing” to the structure. The bigger problem was the rain, which he said flooded one of the building’s rooms. Despite this, the nonprofit, was still able to provide its usual daytime services for the homeless on Monday.

“We are grateful (the damage) wasn’t worse,” Hartford said.

The Journal-World captured a photo of the fallen tree around noon on Monday. Hartford said that by the time he and his staff got to the center, which is open from 2 to 6 p.m. on Mondays, city crews had removed the tree.

photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

A cone outside the Homeless Resource Center, 944 Kentucky St., marks the location where a tree that fell on the building was removed.

To mitigate the water damage, Hartford said the center posted a request on social media asking for dehumidifiers. He said people responded and lent some to the nonprofit.

Once the center was open, Hartford said it was a “massive day” for services. The center served dinner to 75 people, continued its work program where users pick up trash downtown, and provided its regular free services like hot showers, mail access and laundry.

Hartford said he was thankful there was no impact to operations and that the center could remain “a place for our community to come” after the storm.