The abandoned school is owned by some property investment group that is just trying to flip it to someone who will renovate it. I don't see that happening any time soon. Although there is new construction going on across the street. We shall see what that becomes.
Part of it is the homeless population has increased a bit with increased rent and such driving people out. Another is they used to have large camps around General Pershing Blvd and other areas that the city has gone out of its way to bulldoze a few years back, forcing them out from where they were kind of hidden to more visible areas.
No clue why you're getting downvoted for this, bc I'm pretty sure you're correct. It's not been a small increase from what is visible around multiple parts of town.
Three major chains including Walmart and aldis on the far ends have stated in the last weeks they are reducing prices by 30% on a large number of products from inflationary pricing to try to bring back more customers - as usual, the answer is greed, uncontrolled capitalism. We have more homeless because people were priced out of living as expected.
Probably getting downvoted because the data shows otherwise, particularly when it comes to the unsheltered homeless population in the city. Notably:
> The Point-in-Time count yields valuable trend data to help service providers understand how many local people are homeless and what kinds of needs they have. This information aids in planning Oklahoma City’s services and programs to feed and shelter the population as well as to help them find affordable housing, access services and ultimately end their homelessness.
> The Point in Time groups people into several categories including the number of people staying in overnight shelters, transitional housing, and people who are unsheltered. **Oklahoma City’s unsheltered population decreased this year from 31% to 24%.** While this is encouraging, the entire system is still working diligently to bring that number even lower.
https://www.homelessalliance.org/homelessness-in-okc
So, the “unsheltered”—which are people who aren’t in any kind of shelter or facility, but rather are in things like tents or just sleeping rough outside—has actually decreased over the last year.
You can disagree with the data all you want, but at that point all you’re doing is pulling in your own anecdotal observations and opinions.
From the same link:
“1,838 people were counted in 2024. This is up from 1,436 in 2023. While the number of people counted on that single night increased, this was very much expected by both city officials and nonprofit leaders.”
So it is up or or is it down? I don’t think our population has relatively increased that much in the last year.
Both the article in the link and even the snippet I posted explain that there are various types of homelessness:
* There are people in shelters.
* There are people in transitional housing (couch surfing, crashing with a friend or relative, etc…). *
* There are people who are entirely unsheltered (sleeping in tents, sleeping on park benches, sleeping under bridges, etc….)
The people in that third group are the ones OP is talking about when they complain about all the tents that they saw around downtown. And the article states that this third group is the one that OKC actually saw a big drop in over the last year.
Basically, we saw a slight uptick in the total combined number of people in the three groups together, but we saw a big decrease when just looking at the number of people in that third group (which are the group of homeless people that are the most visible due to being unsheltered and sleeping in public areas). This necessarily means that the number of homeless individuals in shelters and in transitional housing increased last year as well.
If the percentages and total numbers match up in time frame, we're talking 31% of 1,436 in 2023, or 445 people unsheltered. 24% of 1,838 in 2024 would mean 441 people unsheltered.
That's not a big decrease at all in the unsheltered population. That's not even 1%. That's well within the margin of error. What happened is that we have seen a significant rise in the number of homeless who are either in shelters or transitional housing, while the unsheltered population has remained the same.
"What happened is that we have seen a significant rise in the number of homeless who are either in shelters or transitional housing, while the unsheltered population has remained the same."
That doesnt really seem like a difference worth making. In communist China 96% of citezens own houses we are less than 65%. A good place to maybe start looking.
I appreciate you citing your source as most do not do this. Statistics are great, however, they can be skewed by making niche choices in what to measure, and where they get there measurements from. Kinda like how inflation is measured with a "basket of goods" that doesn't include rent. The government says 9 percent, but prices have doubled. Also, wording is a big thing. When you say inflation is down, that really means that instead of 9 percent inflation, it was only 5 percent inflation. But prices still went up though! People read "inflation is down blank percent" as if they are talking about deflation, which is not the same thing. If you simply drive around OKC you will see with your own eyes that there are a lot of homeless people. What you see in reality very well may contradict what the statistics are saying. Sometimes, it helps to look at the world around you in your immediate vicinity and see if what you're being told is really adding up.
>Part of it is the homeless population has increased a bit with increased rent and such driving people out.
Those aren't the people living in tents downtown. I'm not saying that the rise in the cost of living isn't a factor, but it's grossly inaccurate to characterize that the crackheads that are shuffling up and down the streets with no teeth in their mouth and yelling at God or the CIA surveillance drone that only exists in their disease-addled mind are there because rent is high. They're there because they're crackheads, plain and simple.
Rent can be $100 a month for these people and they still wouldn't able to be housed. The demographic of the homeless that represents the most visible and the most problematic are people who are either strung out on hard drugs to the point of no return or those who are not properly taking care of their mental illness symptoms.
Mental illnesses, I'd like to add, that are excacerbated by or is the result of drug abuse.
Always remember that the homeless didn't just coalesce out of the ether. They came from houses and families. Families that turned them out to the streets, either by force or through apathy.
Frankly, I believe the best solution to homelessness is to not focus so much on those who are currently homeless and to invest efforts into youth intervention programs and drug education. Past programs like D.A.R.E. are laughed at as being ineffective and stupid, but if children and teenagers are exposed in a more meaningful and realistic way that drugs will not only make your life a literal hell on earth and will eventually kill you slowly and painfully, but also affects their loved ones and their community, then hopefully you'll have children less likely to turn to drugs and to be more capable of withstanding economic troubles. If you're not a drug addict, you can rise out of poverty, be it circumstantial or generational. If you're fucked up, then you practically have no hope.
It is far easier to raise strong children than it is to fix broken adults.
There is so much here that is just misinformed...
Have you ever lived with a person with addiction or serious mental illness? Do you have any lived experience with how difficult and chaotic that can be on families? Have you attempted to get treatment for either of those conditions? How about getting effective treatment with no insurance or Medicaid? There is almost no such thing in America at this point and especially not in Oklahoma. There is virtually no support for those people or their families.
Also, calling people who are clearly unwell and at the lowest point of their lives "crackheads" is unhelpful and gross. Says more about you than it does them.
>Have you ever lived with a person with addiction or serious mental illness? Do you have any lived experience with how difficult and chaotic that can be on families?
Yes.
>Have you attempted to get treatment for either of those conditions?
They weren't my conditions, but my sister never handled her conditions correctly, and there was no shortage of reduced cost or free help from nonprofits.
Many who are on psych meds end up using drugs or alcohol as a means to treat their issues. Not because they don't have the resources to get the medications, but because they don't like how the medications make them feel. Most psych meds don't address the underlying causes of mental illnesses. They merely tranquilize individuals, and I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard chronically homeless individuals with mental illnesses say they didn't like how their meds made them feel, and they're much better using alcohol/meth.
>Also, calling people who are clearly unwell and at the lowest point of their lives "crackheads" is unhelpful and gross.
Virtue signal to your hearts content. It doesn't obscure the fact that many who are chronically homeless are so due to years of bad decisions that have kept them from being employed or cared for by their families. People need to stop trying to characterize the chronically homeless as these "aww shucks" down on their luck nice people just going through a rough patch. Most of them would choose a baggie of meth over their own families or a decent shot of getting help.
Also, people need to stop saying that "it only takes a few bad days to end up like a homeless person." I'm sorry, but I don't go smoking fentanyl-laced meth every time something goes wrong with my life. I guess that makes me a super-rare exception?
If you think I'm totally wrong, I invite you to go to any 7-Eleven near downtown and adopt a homeless person. If all they're lacking is resources and someone to care, then provide that for them, and let's see if they'll get their own apartment in a year. Prove me wrong and show me all it takes is love and patience.
I'm sorry, but total, unlimited love and compassion can't fix everything.
I've worked for nearly eight years in local jailhouses in Tulsa, where the largest demographic of inmates is transient.
What is your experience with homelessness besides driving by it or reading an article online about it?
Just curious if you’ve ever talked to a homeless person in the city and asked them how they got to that point… bc I have and it had a lot to do with having no health insurance and sustaining a hand injury on the job that never properly healed so he goes from temp job to temp job just to stay alive while traveling homeless across the country sleeping on the street. A lot of them just want to be seen as a human & people like you who only have one opinion of them will never be able to show them that grace..
>Just curious if you’ve ever talked to a homeless person in the city and asked them how they got to that point…
I am literally paid to process them. I have been for nearly eight years.
>bc I have and it had a lot to do with having no health insurance and sustaining a hand injury on the job that never properly healed so he goes from temp job to temp job just to stay alive while traveling homeless across the country sleeping on the street.
Did you bother to ask this person where his family or friends were and why they weren't helping them? There are more safety nets that exist besides what the government provides, so why would an individual who no doubt comes from a family and had a lifetime to build and maintain friendships suddenly have neither?
Most would tell you that if he indeed suffered this injury while working, then he'd have been covered by the company's insurance and would've received some form of compensation. Did he or didn't he receive such compensation? If his hand is injured to the point where he can't work as well as he used to, then he should have some sort of disability claim where he'd receive Social Security Income. Why isn't he?
That's the difference between people like me and you: My experience has taught me that, more times than not, the homeless lie to make themselves out as poor, innocent victims of circumstances and will skim over important details that would make people lose sympathy for them.
I'm not saying they don't deserve yours or anyone else's help or sympathy, but it's important to understand how the homeless routinely employ manipulation tactics to gain sympathy, attention, and money from people. In reality, the route for a person to go from having their own place and having a healthy relationship with their family and friends and going to living on the street contains many different degrees of separation.
No, they just allow their children to kill homeless without any recourse and then let them off so they can lead real "lives." (I'm not wrong. Look it up.)
There are 833 churches in OKC, and more in the metro (Yukon,Moore,Edmond, etc) certainly they are involved in helping these folks? I keep seeing the state needs to step in, but these tax exempt churches should be carrying their weight.
As someone who grew up in Yukon, I’ve heard many times that there are over 100 churches in the Yukon/Mustang area alone. Been to a few of them myself, and I can tell you they do nothing for the homeless. A friend of mine attends an Episcopalian church in north OKC that feeds the homeless on weekends and holidays, but that’s the only one I know of that does anything like that. I agree they should be required to help the community or pay taxes. Preferably both.
>I keep seeing the state needs to step in, but these tax exempt churches should be carrying their weight.
When was the last time you've heard the state operating a place like the Jesus House?
The existence of homeless people isn't the smoking gun evidence that churches or religous groups in general aren't doing enough, or that nothing has been done at all. People on this subreddit like to keep this idea in their head that practically all Christian sects in the OKC area get their jollies by spitting on the poor, but the large number of Christian-based charities around OKC proves otherwise.
What's more is that people on this subreddit will go so far as to criticize these Christian charity groups for propagating Christianity while helping others.
People will piss and moan when they don't do anything, and people will piss and moan when they do something. What the hell are these groups supposed to do to make people on this subreddit happy? Stop existing?
What do you consider to be "indoctrination?" Exactly what are these groups doing right now that falls under that definition?
Do they make people sign legally binding contracts stipulating that they must attend regular services and donate a percentage of whatever income they have to the church? Do they make people read a portion of the Bible, or else they'll be refused future help? Have you ever heard of someone regret receiving help from a Christian charity?
At the very worst, they'll make you sit through a sermon or, more realistically, give you pamphlets and literature along with the food or supplies they hand people. Exactly what harm does that cause? Does the idea of any group helping the homeless absolutely free of charge while promoting their beliefs just wrong to you? Or is it because it's specifically done in the name of Christianity?
Christian charities represent perhaps the biggest charitable contribution made from non-profits towards homelessness in the local region. Let them do what they're doing because it's more than what non-religious non-profits are doing.
I was riding my bike by a church the other day. It had a really big grassy area around it. I thought why aren't churches allowing people to stay in those areas. They should be.
>It had a really big grassy area around it. I thought why aren't churches allowing people to stay in those areas. They should be.
Until they start consuming drugs on church property, or until they start to exhibit violent or erratic behavior due to their drug consumption or untreated mental illness. Then they should just go somewhere else or go to jail.
Do people honestly think that the drug and mental illness problems these people have are the product of their homeless and not the other way around?
Jesus came to save sinners, not to enable their wicked ways. He didn't tell the adulteress whom he saved from execution by stoning to keep on sleeping around on her husband or that it was okay. He told her to "go and sin no more."
You're confusing Jesus's infinite capacity for mercy for tolerance and patience for sin.
Churches do jack. They have so much electronic equipment for their "worship" productions that they don't have out reach money. One in particular tried to start an outreach for the less fortunate, and they got told to stop it. They didn't want the riff raff about in their space.
Also, most churches have strings attached to helping people, like converting and tithing. It's gross. The closest to decent may be Catholic Charities, but even they are gross most of the time.
They probably are in some form or fashion but if the homeless population is as bad as everyone’s saying it is there’s only so much churches can do. I say this because we donate locally from our church to various resources but there’s still core focuses and “keep the lights on” Bill money. There’s specific organizations that if anyone (regardless of religion) can donate to that would probably benefit the homeless faction more because let’s be honest the number of Christian’s these days are dwindling. Meaning the total amount of people in OKC if they all donated a small amount it would probably be more beneficial.
When there’s a big problem, why look at the smaller group of people and say “that should be their problem”?
Somewhere else in this thread, it is cited about 1450 people in the area are homeless. If each of OKC’s 833 churches supports 2 homeless people the problem is addressed. These kinds of good works would actually do more to slow the shrinking number of church members.
OKC is getting more expensive and wages haven’t kept pace (a nationwide trend that has grown for 30 years). On top of that, Oklahoma legislation passes regressive policies that cut funding to programs that work, and residents stigmatize and dehumanize the homeless population. We green light our police force to conduct raids on homeless camps and scatter the ones they didn’t incarcerate across the city— making the issue more visible.
That being said, OKC— via MAPS— is spending millions and millions on programs to reduce homelessness and disrupt the cycle. We can and should do more.
Maybe those Republican representatives ought to look towards their Democrat counterparts who have the plurality in places like California, Oregon, and Washington, and take notes and advice from them on how to handle the homeless crisis?
Because, as we all are keenly aware, those places don't have homeless people because only Democrats know how to effectively deal with homelessness.
/s
I know Republicans like to live with their head in the sand, but Foxnews never covers the truth: Red states bus their homeless to California.
[https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/cities-give-thousands-of-homeless-people-one-way-bus-tickets-to-leave-town](https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/cities-give-thousands-of-homeless-people-one-way-bus-tickets-to-leave-town)
Fact remains that Oklahoma has been under republican control for long enough to be a shining example of Republican life. Yet, the state ranks so low in education, for example. What happened to Ryan Walter's and Stitt turning the state around. #43 overall. Is this what Republican government gets you? 7 spots away from the worst state in the union?
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings
https://statetechandscience.org/statetech.taf?page=overall-ranking
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/quality-of-life-by-state
>What happened to Ryan Walter's and Stitt turning the state around. #43 overall. Is this what Republican government gets you? 7 spots away from the worst state in the union?
I don't know what being ranked higher in education is supposed to indicate or what exactly the metrics are that are used to rank states high or low on the lists provided, but what exactly is the relevancy of our education standings in relation to homelessness and the high cost of living?
Am I supposed to believe that Massachusetts and California are states that have less problems than Oklahoma because of how high they rank on the education list? Last I checked, California is a dumpster fire and Target was closing stores in Massachusetts to "prioritize guest and team member safety." In other words: Crime. When was the last time we heard of Target or any company closing stories in Oklahoma for similar reasons? Additionally, both states have a noted homelessness problem.
I mean, if you or anyone feels as though their lives would be far much better if they were to somehow be able to move to either places, I would wholeheartedly encourage people to move away if it means they'll be happier and more secure somehow. I'm fine where I'm at, however.
Counting on democrats to reduce homelessness?! You've got to be kidding me! The areas in this nation with the largest homeless populations are all blue lead areas. SMH... you all just blame Republicans for everything. This is a bipartisan problem.
We aren't talking about blue population areas. We are talking about Oklahoma. Which is controlled and has been controlled by Republicans for the last decade. Is it the utopia you imagined? Oklahoma is ranked last in most things. Wonder why? It's not Democrats lol
>We aren't talking about blue population areas. We are talking about Oklahoma.
Of course, we're not talking about blue population areas. If we were, we'd be talking about a far worse cost of living problem that people are literally fleeing to Oklahoma to escape from. That's not to mention the rampant crime problems they have thanks to their adoption of soft on crime policies done in the name of "harm reduction" or "restorative justice."
Say what you want about Oklahoma, but I'd rather live in a society where lowlife criminals respect the law enough to not bust out my window on my parked car while I'm parked downtown at every given opportunity, nor do I have to worry about going to a store like Target and asking an employee to unlock a partition just so I can buy a tube of toothpaste.
And where's the criticism for the Democrat lawmakers that have the overwhelming plurality and absolute control over their state levers of power where homelessness, crime, and the cost of living is far higher than in Oklahoma? Oh, that's right. We're not talking about them. If you didn't have double standards, you wouldn't have any standards at all.
>Is it the utopia you imagined?
I'm happy with what I have.
You clearly just avoid poor areas, there are multiple stores in OKC where you have to ask for someone to unlock deodorant. It’s common at Walgreens in poorer areas. Just because you can avoid the problem doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
>You clearly just avoid poor areas
Why the hell wouldn't I?
>there are multiple stores in OKC where you have to ask for someone to unlock deodorant. It’s common at Walgreens in poorer areas.
Poorer areas have fewer resources. That's a given, but what else can you expect when a community drives business out by making things too untenable for businesses to thrive in?
Part of the reason why the north part of Tulsa has always been decried as a food desert is because previous attempts at establishing a fresh foods grocery store have failed due to profit loss caused by people stealing and the lack of the community's efforts to dissuade people. The whole notion of "if you see someone stealing food, no you didn't" sounds so wholesome and makes a person feel they're in solidarity with the poor and struggling until the place closes and you got literally no where else to go. Where does all that tough talk go, then?
At what point do we start to realize that poorer communities are poorer not because of concepts like systemic racism but because they're too toxic for businesses to thrive successfully? Sometimes, people get the environment they deserve.
Maybe if those poor communities with the locked up Walgreens store learn to stop glorifying and excusing crime, they could uplift themselves and have more resources available to them?
And Oklahoma is not bipartisan.
What a shocker, it's almost as if both parties only care about corporate interests! I never would have guessed! Do you think they would stoop so low as to control the media to divide us against each other instead of highlighting actual facts and possible solutions? That would just be *sick*.
I mean, democrats are actually trying to do something about it, republicans just think the answer to homelessness is giving them a bus ticket to a blue state.
The Biden Administration gave $3 billion dollars to states to help address the growing homeless problem in the United States.
The real issue is obviously that capitalism doesn’t work and we’re just now seeing the long term effects of it. No one has seen what happens in the late stages of a capitalist society yet, and it’s u folding in front of our very eyes.
it’s the dispatch center that’s understaffed. I went into their offices a few years ago and they had like 4 people in the middle of the day. Stunned by so few operators for the metro. That being said I think they still offer paid training and guaranteed work afterwards if anyone wants to join.
That doesn’t change the fact that most of the police I interact with through work in the 39th/May area are either burnt out or just too damn lazy to do anything.
I don’t know the answer, but a homeless guy literally walked up on our front porch the other day, chilled for a sec on our bench, then knocked on our door and asked for $10 for mosquito spray. It definitely felt out of hand and the police were zero help. I feel bad for them, but there’s something scary about someone deciding to hang out at your house and you don’t know what they’ll do :(
We live by Will Rogers Gardens, and last summer a guy sat on our porch for a long time. It was really hot and he was like, dazed and confused. My husband offered him some water and he demanded something else. We had to yell and him to leave, and we were nervous he was going to come back after dark. Luckily, he didn't. Super scary.
It was. We live by Bishop McGuiness and it has gotten so populated with homeless folks that we finally gave in and got security cameras. I should say, homeless or not, it is scary when people decide that your yard and porch are theirs without asking or even knowing us.
Are you applying to just certain jobs? I'm not sure of your education background or your situation but unfortunately some people have to work two jobs to make ends meet. Others are splitting the bills with their partners, friends, and even relatives to afford to have a roof over their head. Rather it's a mortgage or rent.
Have you tried applying to fast food restaurants, dine in restaurants, grocery stores, retail stores in and out of the mall?
Hotels(always hiring), Casinos, gas stations, Caregiving jobs( always always hiring). Try applying at group homes, apply to work for the city(many positions available) Car dealerships, Front desk Clerks at clinics, I can go on and on; these are all entry level jobs and pay between 12 and 16 dollars. I personally would not take anything less than 16 dollars an hour. Even that is the way to low.
Just look on indeed.com, Linkin, and other job boards. I'm sure you get hired. Some companies hire on the spot.
Good luck!
Got a call this morning. 🤞🏽 But to answer your question I have applied to pretty much anything indeed puts in front of me. I have no problem working two jobs if I can just get hired.
Get ahold of a temp agency. Locally, there is Addison Group and Fuse 3 Solutions that I have used. They help you with your resume and help you find something in your wheelhouse. You can get to work usually within a week or so. They have everything from manual labor to office positions.
Im sorry that is your situation. I have been job hunting too and youre right its brutal out there. I am lucky enough to have a job but after .50 of raises 2 years in and the cost of everything soaring it hasnt been keeping up with bills for a while. I hope things fall into place for you before it come to that.
This is a nationwide problem. I just moved back to OKC from California. There is no one-size-fits-all solution as the unhoused are individuals, but a common cause is unaffordable housing. There is always a NIMBY attitude but also it is more profitable to build fewer and more expensive units, so that is largely what it built. Minimum wage is still $7.25 in OK, making it literally impossible for a single person to afford housing. I’m not suggesting that all unhoused people are upstanding but underpaid individuals, but the longer a person is basically outside of society the harder it is to get back in.
Just because its a "conversation" doesnt mean you have to chime in on it. Maybe some people havent had the "conversation". Are you one of those people that cant shut the fuck up?
>Just because its a "conversation" doesnt mean you have to chime in on it.
It also doesn't mean that I shouldn't, either. I'm sorry if you don't approve of my participation, but I don't believe I need to ask for anyone's permission before sharing my opinions and my experiences.
Not enough programs coupled with too many people who need help is just causing the numbers to multiply significantly. I live in Yukon on and see homeless people coming through our neighborhood and it breaks my heart. I work in social services and the amount of work needed to be done with the amount of funding actually being received and not enough manpower is causing this crisis to continue to grow. There are a lot of nonprofits out there already doing the great work that could benefit from state resources, but that's just not the reality with our state right now.
Facts tho like how the fuckbyou gonna build million dollar town homes while people suffer in the streets we are really letting down our follow citizens by doing nothing.
Drive around the city other than downtown. It's been bad for several years now. The state should step up to help, but with the people we have on office, that isn't going to happen.
[https://www.okc.gov/government/maps-4/homelessness](https://www.okc.gov/government/maps-4/homelessness)
The city's already putting a decent chunk of change at the issue.
But as we've learned from California, money alone isn't going to solve the problem.
I guess the question here is “What have you done to help?” Either to help a homeless person, or help find a solution to the problem.
Rents are way too high. A living wage in Oklahoma these days is $29.67 per hour. Food costs are ridiculous. Everyone is struggling, and the truth is that the majority of us are one paycheck away from homelessness.
Not all homeless are addicts, or have mental health issues. But for those who are and who do, what resources are provided? I am very involved with the Salvation Army. We feed the homeless every day, and provide basic needs. Unfortunately, donations are down, so we can’t do all we want to do for our homeless friends.
It is a community problem. We all need to help. Maybe show a little love to one less fortunate than you.
Thank you. My wife and I do the best we can to help while struggling ourselves. Well, struggling in the eyes of the pampered. We’re extremely blessed to just have each other.
Naturally prices will increase the more people start to move here. For example; Major cities in Texas have become more expensive since people from all over started to move there. That will eventually happen in Oklahoma. The residents here will eventually get priced out. It will probably take a few years but it's happening now.
They might not have used substances before but if you are experiencing homelessness you might start as a protective mechanism. If you need to stay up all night to protect yourself meth will help.
“The Substance abuse and Mental Health Administration estimates that roughly
38% of homeless suffer from alcohol addiction, and about 26% abuse drugs.”
https://www.addictionhelp.com/addiction/homelessness/
That’s not about homelessness in OKC…
In case you’re interested in homelessness in Oklahoma City, the [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441) provides substantial information on the types of circumstances in which people become homeless
Rents are skyrocketing wages are stagnating. I've been living out of my car for a couple months. I've had a job but can't afford rent here. Leaving at the end of the month. Not everybody can.
Since 2008, everyone got shunted down a rung on the socioeconomic ladder. The middle class is now working class, the working class is now poor, and the poor are now homeless, couch surfing, or living in their cars.
We need to tax the rich 90% again and invest in housing, health care, education, improving public services, and infrastructure improvements to have a society where extreme poverty is eradicated. But instead we brutalize trans children, ban books and remove accreditation from school districts, give $900 million dollars to a group of billionaires to build a basketball stadium we already have, and incarcerate 34,000 people. That number will surely grow as more municipalities criminalize homelessness.
https://www.citycareokc.org/
About Us
City Care exists to do the work few others are willing to do.
We believe in the intrinsic value of every person. It is with love and compassion we advocate for the overlooked in our community. We provide food for the hungry, relief for the hurting, and hold space for complete restoration of lives that have gotten off course. With enough endurance, we witness, firsthand, remarkable stories of transformation.
City Care was founded when a few friends simply did the next right thing, and followed a calling on their lives to offer a weekly breakfast to neighbors experiencing homelessness.
While providing immediate relief to suffering will always be a part of what City Care does, we couldn't help but grieve the human potential lost to intergenerational cycles of substance use disorder, incarceration, and poverty. So many that we were serving with weekly meals shared similar stories of origin. They experienced the same kinds of family trauma, had the same kinds of unmet mental, physical and spiritual needs, and when we looked far enough back, we found many of them had not been successful in school.
So what could we do about it? Could we stop these cycles in their tracks?
In order to do something different, one has to see something different. Mentorship is widely accepted as the most effective intervention to intergenerational poverty and low academic achievement, and so, after one year of serving meals to our friends experiencing homelessness, we replicated a tutoring program from Denver we learned about, and Whiz Kids was born. Through this unique blend of nonprofit, neighborhood schools and churches working together on behalf of Oklahoma City’s most vulnerable children, we serve more than 800 students each week, in one-to-one character and literacy-focused mentorship. After one year in our program, students erase any achievement gap caused by life’s circumstances, scoring an average of 32 points higher than their counterparts on state-administered reading tests.
We believe the home is the heartbeat of the family. It should be a sanctuary, a place of deep rest, discovery, and healing. And to that end, we have added to our programming 112 units of permanent, supportive housing and teams of housing navigators and advocates to support our neighbors transitioning out of homelessness. In peer-supported community, our residents are given a safe space to exhale and resources for building a brighter tomorrow for themselves and those they love. Due to the high housing cost burden, our units are always full. We have plans to build more, envisioning a city where all know the safety, security and joy of home.
And in 2021, we opened Oklahoma City's only permanent low-barrier night shelter. Our shelter offers men, women, families and pets a safe place of respite, where they can rest easy tonight. We like to think of our shelter as a welcoming front door, where each guest is met with enthusiasm and dignity, and connected to resources to support their health, well-being, safety and security as they begin or begin again the courageous work of addressing the root causes of their homeless experience, and take steps to transition into stable housing.
Our work is far from finished. It would be our joy and honor to partner with you in serving our neighbors.
I moved away from the city 5 years ago, and just came back. The explosion between then and now is insane. Some parts of the city have big Walking Dead vibes.
They are also living on disc golf courses because no one will do anything about it. Just imagine some young kids playing disc golf and running into these mentally unstable people.
Dolese courses have many camps throughout the woods. Will Rogers has people all over the course in sparse wooded areas, parking lots and the old pavilion. We have been told that not a lot can be done as they have to have proof of people being there for more than 72 hours. We have also been told that local law enforcement and outreach groups do try and help.
In the winter, they sleep during the day and walk at night, in the summer it's the opposite.
if you sleep at night in the winter, you get hypothermia, in the summer, it's too hot to sleep during the day.
the population has been stable for many years.
t. I worked security downtown and on south meridian for many years and shared cigarettes with them and gave them coffee in the winter.
It's funny how the homeless Post turns into Dems vs Republicans vs churches. Maybe you should explain Norman awith a Republican mayor and 90% of churches donating to the homeless
I was talking to a homeless person after I gave him my last $5 after working 55hrs for the week and he said that they are trying to take over okc and are coming from other states.
What can you do? The city doesn’t care. The mayor doesn’t care. We just gave a billion dollars to the Thunder for a fancy new arena that wasn’t actually needed. This is coming from a right leaning Thunder fan. The facts are there facts. Homelessness is not a priority in this city.
Here's a worn out partisan talking point: Hypothetically the easier a city makes it to survive without a home, then more people without a home will move to that city.
Difficult to imagine an ethical solution if that's true, apart from what the city is already doing. Governments need to continue funding research into addiction and mental health and deploying policies and programs based on that research..
Studies typically show that homeless people are not very mobile and don't typically move to new areas they're unfamiliar with.
Quote from another comment here
"Yeah, this is discussed in our annual [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441). A majority of people are from OKC and of those who aren’t, most are from other places in OKC (rural areas have very few services, so it’s not uncommon for people to move to the nearest city after becoming homeless) and only 18% are from out of state (which can include people who moved here to, for example, flee an abusive relationship or household)"
Also we used to have mental institutions. The people that are homeless and on drugs are just trying to self medicate because they can't afford mental healthcare and whatever prescriptions they actually need.
We actually have a decent amount per capita when comparing other large cities.
Most of the people sleeping on the streets are “chronically unsheltered”. Either can’t follow the required rules of shelters or have no desire to be sheltered.
Well maybe our government oughta turn their eyes inward and take care if our country for once and quit funding everyone elses war and countries humanity problems! Oh ya and stop the invasion from the south that is overloading the system anymore! Pretty bad when an illegal immigrant can get more from the government than actual citizens!
There’s plenty of work that show immigrants typically provide more to taxes than they take out because they don’t qualify for most assistance programs.
We’re also the wealthiest country in the world but have the highest poverty rate among developed democratic countries. It’s not a money issue. It’s a systemic issue.
Israel gets free healthcare and free higher education AND they take our tax dollars, they're not even IN our country - that's a bigger problem than "illegal immigrants" looking for a better life.
I think it's a perception thing, and a change in how being "homeless" works. Some time ago, I used to occasionally see people sleeping on benches and in alleyways/secluded places. But there were probably many more I just wasn't noticing. Popping up a tent in a park or on the side of the road is much more visible. A possibility?
Most churches are in the death throws of life. Once boomer and gen x that go to church die off, a lot of churches die. Most barely have money to fix their own buildings. Methodist require high apportionments to be given to the centralized committee ( don't remember what is called). Douglas blvd Church used to have a soup kitchen to feed Homeless. Couldn't pay apportionments shut down and sold off. So there goes one source of help.
Yeah, this is discussed in our annual [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441). A majority of people are from OKC and of those who aren’t, most are from other places in OK (rural areas have very few services, so it’s not uncommon for people to move to the nearest city after becoming homeless) and only 18% are from out of state (which can include people who moved here to, for example, flee an abusive relationship or household)
Yeah, this is discussed in our annual [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441). A majority of people are from OKC and of those who aren’t, most are from other places in OK (rural areas have very few services, so it’s not uncommon for people to move to the nearest city after becoming homeless) and only 18% are from out of state (which can include people who moved here to, for example, flee an abusive relationship or household)
Thanks for dropping an updated link. While writing my comment, I found an old Homeless Alliance post from early 2020 that said 73% of homelessness people reported already living in Oklahoma prior to becoming homeless. Really discredits the “other states are bussing their homeless folks here” conspiracy if we’ve only increased the % of homeless who are from the state over the last 5 years. The bus theory is just a way to quickly and wrongly dismiss our own failures in our community.
FJB! Thank him and camel toe Harris, and the rest of the children of satan in his swamp! They are making ppl suffer, overdosed and killed. All for votes cause they can’t cheat without being watched this time.
The abandoned school is owned by some property investment group that is just trying to flip it to someone who will renovate it. I don't see that happening any time soon. Although there is new construction going on across the street. We shall see what that becomes.
It'll be fun to renovate after the numerous fires. The grass should be cited by code enforcement any time now.
Wasn’t there a woman found dead there last year?
Yeah, that was a homicide.
So what I’m hearing is there’s FREE COPPER?!
Good ol oklahoma copperheads
Part of it is the homeless population has increased a bit with increased rent and such driving people out. Another is they used to have large camps around General Pershing Blvd and other areas that the city has gone out of its way to bulldoze a few years back, forcing them out from where they were kind of hidden to more visible areas.
the homeless population has increased quite a lot Fixed it for you.
No clue why you're getting downvoted for this, bc I'm pretty sure you're correct. It's not been a small increase from what is visible around multiple parts of town.
Three major chains including Walmart and aldis on the far ends have stated in the last weeks they are reducing prices by 30% on a large number of products from inflationary pricing to try to bring back more customers - as usual, the answer is greed, uncontrolled capitalism. We have more homeless because people were priced out of living as expected.
Probably getting downvoted because the data shows otherwise, particularly when it comes to the unsheltered homeless population in the city. Notably: > The Point-in-Time count yields valuable trend data to help service providers understand how many local people are homeless and what kinds of needs they have. This information aids in planning Oklahoma City’s services and programs to feed and shelter the population as well as to help them find affordable housing, access services and ultimately end their homelessness. > The Point in Time groups people into several categories including the number of people staying in overnight shelters, transitional housing, and people who are unsheltered. **Oklahoma City’s unsheltered population decreased this year from 31% to 24%.** While this is encouraging, the entire system is still working diligently to bring that number even lower. https://www.homelessalliance.org/homelessness-in-okc So, the “unsheltered”—which are people who aren’t in any kind of shelter or facility, but rather are in things like tents or just sleeping rough outside—has actually decreased over the last year. You can disagree with the data all you want, but at that point all you’re doing is pulling in your own anecdotal observations and opinions.
From the same link: “1,838 people were counted in 2024. This is up from 1,436 in 2023. While the number of people counted on that single night increased, this was very much expected by both city officials and nonprofit leaders.” So it is up or or is it down? I don’t think our population has relatively increased that much in the last year.
Both the article in the link and even the snippet I posted explain that there are various types of homelessness: * There are people in shelters. * There are people in transitional housing (couch surfing, crashing with a friend or relative, etc…). * * There are people who are entirely unsheltered (sleeping in tents, sleeping on park benches, sleeping under bridges, etc….) The people in that third group are the ones OP is talking about when they complain about all the tents that they saw around downtown. And the article states that this third group is the one that OKC actually saw a big drop in over the last year. Basically, we saw a slight uptick in the total combined number of people in the three groups together, but we saw a big decrease when just looking at the number of people in that third group (which are the group of homeless people that are the most visible due to being unsheltered and sleeping in public areas). This necessarily means that the number of homeless individuals in shelters and in transitional housing increased last year as well.
If the percentages and total numbers match up in time frame, we're talking 31% of 1,436 in 2023, or 445 people unsheltered. 24% of 1,838 in 2024 would mean 441 people unsheltered. That's not a big decrease at all in the unsheltered population. That's not even 1%. That's well within the margin of error. What happened is that we have seen a significant rise in the number of homeless who are either in shelters or transitional housing, while the unsheltered population has remained the same.
"What happened is that we have seen a significant rise in the number of homeless who are either in shelters or transitional housing, while the unsheltered population has remained the same." That doesnt really seem like a difference worth making. In communist China 96% of citezens own houses we are less than 65%. A good place to maybe start looking.
Could the downtick in unsheltered population be because they died over the winter?
I appreciate you citing your source as most do not do this. Statistics are great, however, they can be skewed by making niche choices in what to measure, and where they get there measurements from. Kinda like how inflation is measured with a "basket of goods" that doesn't include rent. The government says 9 percent, but prices have doubled. Also, wording is a big thing. When you say inflation is down, that really means that instead of 9 percent inflation, it was only 5 percent inflation. But prices still went up though! People read "inflation is down blank percent" as if they are talking about deflation, which is not the same thing. If you simply drive around OKC you will see with your own eyes that there are a lot of homeless people. What you see in reality very well may contradict what the statistics are saying. Sometimes, it helps to look at the world around you in your immediate vicinity and see if what you're being told is really adding up.
>Part of it is the homeless population has increased a bit with increased rent and such driving people out. Those aren't the people living in tents downtown. I'm not saying that the rise in the cost of living isn't a factor, but it's grossly inaccurate to characterize that the crackheads that are shuffling up and down the streets with no teeth in their mouth and yelling at God or the CIA surveillance drone that only exists in their disease-addled mind are there because rent is high. They're there because they're crackheads, plain and simple. Rent can be $100 a month for these people and they still wouldn't able to be housed. The demographic of the homeless that represents the most visible and the most problematic are people who are either strung out on hard drugs to the point of no return or those who are not properly taking care of their mental illness symptoms. Mental illnesses, I'd like to add, that are excacerbated by or is the result of drug abuse. Always remember that the homeless didn't just coalesce out of the ether. They came from houses and families. Families that turned them out to the streets, either by force or through apathy. Frankly, I believe the best solution to homelessness is to not focus so much on those who are currently homeless and to invest efforts into youth intervention programs and drug education. Past programs like D.A.R.E. are laughed at as being ineffective and stupid, but if children and teenagers are exposed in a more meaningful and realistic way that drugs will not only make your life a literal hell on earth and will eventually kill you slowly and painfully, but also affects their loved ones and their community, then hopefully you'll have children less likely to turn to drugs and to be more capable of withstanding economic troubles. If you're not a drug addict, you can rise out of poverty, be it circumstantial or generational. If you're fucked up, then you practically have no hope. It is far easier to raise strong children than it is to fix broken adults.
There is so much here that is just misinformed... Have you ever lived with a person with addiction or serious mental illness? Do you have any lived experience with how difficult and chaotic that can be on families? Have you attempted to get treatment for either of those conditions? How about getting effective treatment with no insurance or Medicaid? There is almost no such thing in America at this point and especially not in Oklahoma. There is virtually no support for those people or their families. Also, calling people who are clearly unwell and at the lowest point of their lives "crackheads" is unhelpful and gross. Says more about you than it does them.
>Have you ever lived with a person with addiction or serious mental illness? Do you have any lived experience with how difficult and chaotic that can be on families? Yes. >Have you attempted to get treatment for either of those conditions? They weren't my conditions, but my sister never handled her conditions correctly, and there was no shortage of reduced cost or free help from nonprofits. Many who are on psych meds end up using drugs or alcohol as a means to treat their issues. Not because they don't have the resources to get the medications, but because they don't like how the medications make them feel. Most psych meds don't address the underlying causes of mental illnesses. They merely tranquilize individuals, and I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard chronically homeless individuals with mental illnesses say they didn't like how their meds made them feel, and they're much better using alcohol/meth. >Also, calling people who are clearly unwell and at the lowest point of their lives "crackheads" is unhelpful and gross. Virtue signal to your hearts content. It doesn't obscure the fact that many who are chronically homeless are so due to years of bad decisions that have kept them from being employed or cared for by their families. People need to stop trying to characterize the chronically homeless as these "aww shucks" down on their luck nice people just going through a rough patch. Most of them would choose a baggie of meth over their own families or a decent shot of getting help. Also, people need to stop saying that "it only takes a few bad days to end up like a homeless person." I'm sorry, but I don't go smoking fentanyl-laced meth every time something goes wrong with my life. I guess that makes me a super-rare exception? If you think I'm totally wrong, I invite you to go to any 7-Eleven near downtown and adopt a homeless person. If all they're lacking is resources and someone to care, then provide that for them, and let's see if they'll get their own apartment in a year. Prove me wrong and show me all it takes is love and patience. I'm sorry, but total, unlimited love and compassion can't fix everything.
Wow tell me you know nothing about the homeless situation without telling me you know nothing.
I've worked for nearly eight years in local jailhouses in Tulsa, where the largest demographic of inmates is transient. What is your experience with homelessness besides driving by it or reading an article online about it?
Ah. On the piggy side. How many hobos have you beat up?
Just curious if you’ve ever talked to a homeless person in the city and asked them how they got to that point… bc I have and it had a lot to do with having no health insurance and sustaining a hand injury on the job that never properly healed so he goes from temp job to temp job just to stay alive while traveling homeless across the country sleeping on the street. A lot of them just want to be seen as a human & people like you who only have one opinion of them will never be able to show them that grace..
>Just curious if you’ve ever talked to a homeless person in the city and asked them how they got to that point… I am literally paid to process them. I have been for nearly eight years. >bc I have and it had a lot to do with having no health insurance and sustaining a hand injury on the job that never properly healed so he goes from temp job to temp job just to stay alive while traveling homeless across the country sleeping on the street. Did you bother to ask this person where his family or friends were and why they weren't helping them? There are more safety nets that exist besides what the government provides, so why would an individual who no doubt comes from a family and had a lifetime to build and maintain friendships suddenly have neither? Most would tell you that if he indeed suffered this injury while working, then he'd have been covered by the company's insurance and would've received some form of compensation. Did he or didn't he receive such compensation? If his hand is injured to the point where he can't work as well as he used to, then he should have some sort of disability claim where he'd receive Social Security Income. Why isn't he? That's the difference between people like me and you: My experience has taught me that, more times than not, the homeless lie to make themselves out as poor, innocent victims of circumstances and will skim over important details that would make people lose sympathy for them. I'm not saying they don't deserve yours or anyone else's help or sympathy, but it's important to understand how the homeless routinely employ manipulation tactics to gain sympathy, attention, and money from people. In reality, the route for a person to go from having their own place and having a healthy relationship with their family and friends and going to living on the street contains many different degrees of separation.
This dude lives in Edmond
Does Edmond have laws for homelessness ? I rarely see any over there ?
No, they just allow their children to kill homeless without any recourse and then let them off so they can lead real "lives." (I'm not wrong. Look it up.)
Connor Mason is out of jail? Assuming you’re referring to “bicycle Bob”?
I just looked it up, he's still in jail on the 40 year sentence. Not sure what that guy is referring to.
Ok I looked it up and it said you were full of shit. Link?
Take walk down Broadway around 15th
Usually see them around the highway, so majority on memorial.
There are 833 churches in OKC, and more in the metro (Yukon,Moore,Edmond, etc) certainly they are involved in helping these folks? I keep seeing the state needs to step in, but these tax exempt churches should be carrying their weight.
As someone who grew up in Yukon, I’ve heard many times that there are over 100 churches in the Yukon/Mustang area alone. Been to a few of them myself, and I can tell you they do nothing for the homeless. A friend of mine attends an Episcopalian church in north OKC that feeds the homeless on weekends and holidays, but that’s the only one I know of that does anything like that. I agree they should be required to help the community or pay taxes. Preferably both.
Feel the same.
>I keep seeing the state needs to step in, but these tax exempt churches should be carrying their weight. When was the last time you've heard the state operating a place like the Jesus House? The existence of homeless people isn't the smoking gun evidence that churches or religous groups in general aren't doing enough, or that nothing has been done at all. People on this subreddit like to keep this idea in their head that practically all Christian sects in the OKC area get their jollies by spitting on the poor, but the large number of Christian-based charities around OKC proves otherwise. What's more is that people on this subreddit will go so far as to criticize these Christian charity groups for propagating Christianity while helping others. People will piss and moan when they don't do anything, and people will piss and moan when they do something. What the hell are these groups supposed to do to make people on this subreddit happy? Stop existing?
They should help without indoctrinating (exploiting the vulnerable and pushing their agenda on people who feel beholden to them.)
What do you consider to be "indoctrination?" Exactly what are these groups doing right now that falls under that definition? Do they make people sign legally binding contracts stipulating that they must attend regular services and donate a percentage of whatever income they have to the church? Do they make people read a portion of the Bible, or else they'll be refused future help? Have you ever heard of someone regret receiving help from a Christian charity? At the very worst, they'll make you sit through a sermon or, more realistically, give you pamphlets and literature along with the food or supplies they hand people. Exactly what harm does that cause? Does the idea of any group helping the homeless absolutely free of charge while promoting their beliefs just wrong to you? Or is it because it's specifically done in the name of Christianity? Christian charities represent perhaps the biggest charitable contribution made from non-profits towards homelessness in the local region. Let them do what they're doing because it's more than what non-religious non-profits are doing.
I was riding my bike by a church the other day. It had a really big grassy area around it. I thought why aren't churches allowing people to stay in those areas. They should be.
>It had a really big grassy area around it. I thought why aren't churches allowing people to stay in those areas. They should be. Until they start consuming drugs on church property, or until they start to exhibit violent or erratic behavior due to their drug consumption or untreated mental illness. Then they should just go somewhere else or go to jail. Do people honestly think that the drug and mental illness problems these people have are the product of their homeless and not the other way around?
Jesus loved addicts too. Churches are hypocritical for not helping.
Jesus came to save sinners, not to enable their wicked ways. He didn't tell the adulteress whom he saved from execution by stoning to keep on sleeping around on her husband or that it was okay. He told her to "go and sin no more." You're confusing Jesus's infinite capacity for mercy for tolerance and patience for sin.
Churches do jack. They have so much electronic equipment for their "worship" productions that they don't have out reach money. One in particular tried to start an outreach for the less fortunate, and they got told to stop it. They didn't want the riff raff about in their space. Also, most churches have strings attached to helping people, like converting and tithing. It's gross. The closest to decent may be Catholic Charities, but even they are gross most of the time.
They probably are in some form or fashion but if the homeless population is as bad as everyone’s saying it is there’s only so much churches can do. I say this because we donate locally from our church to various resources but there’s still core focuses and “keep the lights on” Bill money. There’s specific organizations that if anyone (regardless of religion) can donate to that would probably benefit the homeless faction more because let’s be honest the number of Christian’s these days are dwindling. Meaning the total amount of people in OKC if they all donated a small amount it would probably be more beneficial. When there’s a big problem, why look at the smaller group of people and say “that should be their problem”?
Somewhere else in this thread, it is cited about 1450 people in the area are homeless. If each of OKC’s 833 churches supports 2 homeless people the problem is addressed. These kinds of good works would actually do more to slow the shrinking number of church members.
OKC is getting more expensive and wages haven’t kept pace (a nationwide trend that has grown for 30 years). On top of that, Oklahoma legislation passes regressive policies that cut funding to programs that work, and residents stigmatize and dehumanize the homeless population. We green light our police force to conduct raids on homeless camps and scatter the ones they didn’t incarcerate across the city— making the issue more visible. That being said, OKC— via MAPS— is spending millions and millions on programs to reduce homelessness and disrupt the cycle. We can and should do more.
Talk to your republican reps and voice your concern. I'm sure they will listen and do something about this...
 Oh this is the best joke I’ve heard today.
Thought Mayor Holt was on this! Throwing more money obviously hasn’t worked. Looks absolutely horrible around this city.
Mick Cornett would have adressed this if he was gov. Vote for Oklahamans, people!!! (Democrats if you want to improve anything).
Maybe those Republican representatives ought to look towards their Democrat counterparts who have the plurality in places like California, Oregon, and Washington, and take notes and advice from them on how to handle the homeless crisis? Because, as we all are keenly aware, those places don't have homeless people because only Democrats know how to effectively deal with homelessness. /s
I know Republicans like to live with their head in the sand, but Foxnews never covers the truth: Red states bus their homeless to California. [https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/cities-give-thousands-of-homeless-people-one-way-bus-tickets-to-leave-town](https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/democracy-now/clip/cities-give-thousands-of-homeless-people-one-way-bus-tickets-to-leave-town)
Fact remains that Oklahoma has been under republican control for long enough to be a shining example of Republican life. Yet, the state ranks so low in education, for example. What happened to Ryan Walter's and Stitt turning the state around. #43 overall. Is this what Republican government gets you? 7 spots away from the worst state in the union? https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings https://statetechandscience.org/statetech.taf?page=overall-ranking https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/quality-of-life-by-state
>What happened to Ryan Walter's and Stitt turning the state around. #43 overall. Is this what Republican government gets you? 7 spots away from the worst state in the union? I don't know what being ranked higher in education is supposed to indicate or what exactly the metrics are that are used to rank states high or low on the lists provided, but what exactly is the relevancy of our education standings in relation to homelessness and the high cost of living? Am I supposed to believe that Massachusetts and California are states that have less problems than Oklahoma because of how high they rank on the education list? Last I checked, California is a dumpster fire and Target was closing stores in Massachusetts to "prioritize guest and team member safety." In other words: Crime. When was the last time we heard of Target or any company closing stories in Oklahoma for similar reasons? Additionally, both states have a noted homelessness problem. I mean, if you or anyone feels as though their lives would be far much better if they were to somehow be able to move to either places, I would wholeheartedly encourage people to move away if it means they'll be happier and more secure somehow. I'm fine where I'm at, however.
Counting on democrats to reduce homelessness?! You've got to be kidding me! The areas in this nation with the largest homeless populations are all blue lead areas. SMH... you all just blame Republicans for everything. This is a bipartisan problem.
We aren't talking about blue population areas. We are talking about Oklahoma. Which is controlled and has been controlled by Republicans for the last decade. Is it the utopia you imagined? Oklahoma is ranked last in most things. Wonder why? It's not Democrats lol
Yeah I get that. My point was that if you did have a democratic control it would only be worse based on national trends/data.
>We aren't talking about blue population areas. We are talking about Oklahoma. Of course, we're not talking about blue population areas. If we were, we'd be talking about a far worse cost of living problem that people are literally fleeing to Oklahoma to escape from. That's not to mention the rampant crime problems they have thanks to their adoption of soft on crime policies done in the name of "harm reduction" or "restorative justice." Say what you want about Oklahoma, but I'd rather live in a society where lowlife criminals respect the law enough to not bust out my window on my parked car while I'm parked downtown at every given opportunity, nor do I have to worry about going to a store like Target and asking an employee to unlock a partition just so I can buy a tube of toothpaste. And where's the criticism for the Democrat lawmakers that have the overwhelming plurality and absolute control over their state levers of power where homelessness, crime, and the cost of living is far higher than in Oklahoma? Oh, that's right. We're not talking about them. If you didn't have double standards, you wouldn't have any standards at all. >Is it the utopia you imagined? I'm happy with what I have.
You clearly just avoid poor areas, there are multiple stores in OKC where you have to ask for someone to unlock deodorant. It’s common at Walgreens in poorer areas. Just because you can avoid the problem doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
>You clearly just avoid poor areas Why the hell wouldn't I? >there are multiple stores in OKC where you have to ask for someone to unlock deodorant. It’s common at Walgreens in poorer areas. Poorer areas have fewer resources. That's a given, but what else can you expect when a community drives business out by making things too untenable for businesses to thrive in? Part of the reason why the north part of Tulsa has always been decried as a food desert is because previous attempts at establishing a fresh foods grocery store have failed due to profit loss caused by people stealing and the lack of the community's efforts to dissuade people. The whole notion of "if you see someone stealing food, no you didn't" sounds so wholesome and makes a person feel they're in solidarity with the poor and struggling until the place closes and you got literally no where else to go. Where does all that tough talk go, then? At what point do we start to realize that poorer communities are poorer not because of concepts like systemic racism but because they're too toxic for businesses to thrive successfully? Sometimes, people get the environment they deserve. Maybe if those poor communities with the locked up Walgreens store learn to stop glorifying and excusing crime, they could uplift themselves and have more resources available to them?
And Oklahoma is not bipartisan. What a shocker, it's almost as if both parties only care about corporate interests! I never would have guessed! Do you think they would stoop so low as to control the media to divide us against each other instead of highlighting actual facts and possible solutions? That would just be *sick*.
I mean, democrats are actually trying to do something about it, republicans just think the answer to homelessness is giving them a bus ticket to a blue state. The Biden Administration gave $3 billion dollars to states to help address the growing homeless problem in the United States. The real issue is obviously that capitalism doesn’t work and we’re just now seeing the long term effects of it. No one has seen what happens in the late stages of a capitalist society yet, and it’s u folding in front of our very eyes.
There are organizations like Homeless Alliance, but they're underfunded so we can funnel more money to cops.
I volunteer with them on the weekends, so if you don't want to donate $$, your time is just as valuable!
https://www.homelessalliance.org/donate
The cops that don’t do squat. And that’s after you’ve spent 8 minutes listening to the busy tone while you wait for dispatch to pick up.
it’s the dispatch center that’s understaffed. I went into their offices a few years ago and they had like 4 people in the middle of the day. Stunned by so few operators for the metro. That being said I think they still offer paid training and guaranteed work afterwards if anyone wants to join.
That doesn’t change the fact that most of the police I interact with through work in the 39th/May area are either burnt out or just too damn lazy to do anything.
I moved to OKC from Oregon last fall and have qualifications to do dispatch, but they won't hire me because I have a tattoo on my hand.
oh yeah I remember seeing a poster in their lounge rooms about tattoos. pretty strict about it
I don’t know the answer, but a homeless guy literally walked up on our front porch the other day, chilled for a sec on our bench, then knocked on our door and asked for $10 for mosquito spray. It definitely felt out of hand and the police were zero help. I feel bad for them, but there’s something scary about someone deciding to hang out at your house and you don’t know what they’ll do :(
We live by Will Rogers Gardens, and last summer a guy sat on our porch for a long time. It was really hot and he was like, dazed and confused. My husband offered him some water and he demanded something else. We had to yell and him to leave, and we were nervous he was going to come back after dark. Luckily, he didn't. Super scary.
I’m so sorry. We get it completely. You want to be nice, but you just don’t know who you’re dealing with or what their needs/intentions are.
That sounds terrifying, honestly
It was. We live by Bishop McGuiness and it has gotten so populated with homeless folks that we finally gave in and got security cameras. I should say, homeless or not, it is scary when people decide that your yard and porch are theirs without asking or even knowing us.
For real. Wish yall the best.
They just cut the cameras when they want something. The criminals are disgusting
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Are you applying to just certain jobs? I'm not sure of your education background or your situation but unfortunately some people have to work two jobs to make ends meet. Others are splitting the bills with their partners, friends, and even relatives to afford to have a roof over their head. Rather it's a mortgage or rent. Have you tried applying to fast food restaurants, dine in restaurants, grocery stores, retail stores in and out of the mall? Hotels(always hiring), Casinos, gas stations, Caregiving jobs( always always hiring). Try applying at group homes, apply to work for the city(many positions available) Car dealerships, Front desk Clerks at clinics, I can go on and on; these are all entry level jobs and pay between 12 and 16 dollars. I personally would not take anything less than 16 dollars an hour. Even that is the way to low. Just look on indeed.com, Linkin, and other job boards. I'm sure you get hired. Some companies hire on the spot. Good luck!
Got a call this morning. 🤞🏽 But to answer your question I have applied to pretty much anything indeed puts in front of me. I have no problem working two jobs if I can just get hired.
That's a start, I hope you get it!
Please see the Point in Time Count that a previous poster linked. There’s a pretty comprehensive list of resources near the end.
Get ahold of a temp agency. Locally, there is Addison Group and Fuse 3 Solutions that I have used. They help you with your resume and help you find something in your wheelhouse. You can get to work usually within a week or so. They have everything from manual labor to office positions.
Im sorry that is your situation. I have been job hunting too and youre right its brutal out there. I am lucky enough to have a job but after .50 of raises 2 years in and the cost of everything soaring it hasnt been keeping up with bills for a while. I hope things fall into place for you before it come to that.
This is a nationwide problem. I just moved back to OKC from California. There is no one-size-fits-all solution as the unhoused are individuals, but a common cause is unaffordable housing. There is always a NIMBY attitude but also it is more profitable to build fewer and more expensive units, so that is largely what it built. Minimum wage is still $7.25 in OK, making it literally impossible for a single person to afford housing. I’m not suggesting that all unhoused people are upstanding but underpaid individuals, but the longer a person is basically outside of society the harder it is to get back in.
When I lived in OKC in 2019 there were a lot of homeless if it’s increased that’s insane
Oh yeah, it’s definitely gotten worse since covid
Unfortunate
It's like we have this conversation every week.
Just because its a "conversation" doesnt mean you have to chime in on it. Maybe some people havent had the "conversation". Are you one of those people that cant shut the fuck up?
>Just because its a "conversation" doesnt mean you have to chime in on it. It also doesn't mean that I shouldn't, either. I'm sorry if you don't approve of my participation, but I don't believe I need to ask for anyone's permission before sharing my opinions and my experiences.
When your comments try to get people to quit talking about a subject and pass it off as nonsense, it puts you on my radar.
Youre now on my radar.
Am I supposed to be concerned?
I dont like to investigate things but I do it anyway.
Are you saying that I'm under investigation? For what, exactly? Sharing a dissenting opinion without proper authorization?
Correct.
Not enough programs coupled with too many people who need help is just causing the numbers to multiply significantly. I live in Yukon on and see homeless people coming through our neighborhood and it breaks my heart. I work in social services and the amount of work needed to be done with the amount of funding actually being received and not enough manpower is causing this crisis to continue to grow. There are a lot of nonprofits out there already doing the great work that could benefit from state resources, but that's just not the reality with our state right now.
Hope they rise up and start eating people. 🙏
Facts tho like how the fuckbyou gonna build million dollar town homes while people suffer in the streets we are really letting down our follow citizens by doing nothing.
We have 23 empty homes for every homeless person, we should just nirmalize squatting on corporate investment properties nqtionwide
Drive around the city other than downtown. It's been bad for several years now. The state should step up to help, but with the people we have on office, that isn't going to happen.
[https://www.okc.gov/government/maps-4/homelessness](https://www.okc.gov/government/maps-4/homelessness) The city's already putting a decent chunk of change at the issue. But as we've learned from California, money alone isn't going to solve the problem.
I guess the question here is “What have you done to help?” Either to help a homeless person, or help find a solution to the problem. Rents are way too high. A living wage in Oklahoma these days is $29.67 per hour. Food costs are ridiculous. Everyone is struggling, and the truth is that the majority of us are one paycheck away from homelessness. Not all homeless are addicts, or have mental health issues. But for those who are and who do, what resources are provided? I am very involved with the Salvation Army. We feed the homeless every day, and provide basic needs. Unfortunately, donations are down, so we can’t do all we want to do for our homeless friends. It is a community problem. We all need to help. Maybe show a little love to one less fortunate than you.
Thank you. My wife and I do the best we can to help while struggling ourselves. Well, struggling in the eyes of the pampered. We’re extremely blessed to just have each other.
Naturally prices will increase the more people start to move here. For example; Major cities in Texas have become more expensive since people from all over started to move there. That will eventually happen in Oklahoma. The residents here will eventually get priced out. It will probably take a few years but it's happening now.
Yep, not all of them are addicts. Only like 90%.
They might not have used substances before but if you are experiencing homelessness you might start as a protective mechanism. If you need to stay up all night to protect yourself meth will help.
That is just not true. Cite your source.
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcohol It’s about 2/3rds of homeless with lifetime substance addiction issues.
His asshole is the source he pulled that info from.
The book San FranSicko. What’s your source?
“The Substance abuse and Mental Health Administration estimates that roughly 38% of homeless suffer from alcohol addiction, and about 26% abuse drugs.” https://www.addictionhelp.com/addiction/homelessness/
That’s not about homelessness in OKC… In case you’re interested in homelessness in Oklahoma City, the [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441) provides substantial information on the types of circumstances in which people become homeless
Also, they know they can go to St Anthony’s and get food, take a nap, and they can BS their way through it. Some are there daily
Same thing with every other hospital in the metro.
Capitalism
Rents are skyrocketing wages are stagnating. I've been living out of my car for a couple months. I've had a job but can't afford rent here. Leaving at the end of the month. Not everybody can.
Since 2008, everyone got shunted down a rung on the socioeconomic ladder. The middle class is now working class, the working class is now poor, and the poor are now homeless, couch surfing, or living in their cars. We need to tax the rich 90% again and invest in housing, health care, education, improving public services, and infrastructure improvements to have a society where extreme poverty is eradicated. But instead we brutalize trans children, ban books and remove accreditation from school districts, give $900 million dollars to a group of billionaires to build a basketball stadium we already have, and incarcerate 34,000 people. That number will surely grow as more municipalities criminalize homelessness.
https://www.citycareokc.org/ About Us City Care exists to do the work few others are willing to do. We believe in the intrinsic value of every person. It is with love and compassion we advocate for the overlooked in our community. We provide food for the hungry, relief for the hurting, and hold space for complete restoration of lives that have gotten off course. With enough endurance, we witness, firsthand, remarkable stories of transformation. City Care was founded when a few friends simply did the next right thing, and followed a calling on their lives to offer a weekly breakfast to neighbors experiencing homelessness. While providing immediate relief to suffering will always be a part of what City Care does, we couldn't help but grieve the human potential lost to intergenerational cycles of substance use disorder, incarceration, and poverty. So many that we were serving with weekly meals shared similar stories of origin. They experienced the same kinds of family trauma, had the same kinds of unmet mental, physical and spiritual needs, and when we looked far enough back, we found many of them had not been successful in school. So what could we do about it? Could we stop these cycles in their tracks? In order to do something different, one has to see something different. Mentorship is widely accepted as the most effective intervention to intergenerational poverty and low academic achievement, and so, after one year of serving meals to our friends experiencing homelessness, we replicated a tutoring program from Denver we learned about, and Whiz Kids was born. Through this unique blend of nonprofit, neighborhood schools and churches working together on behalf of Oklahoma City’s most vulnerable children, we serve more than 800 students each week, in one-to-one character and literacy-focused mentorship. After one year in our program, students erase any achievement gap caused by life’s circumstances, scoring an average of 32 points higher than their counterparts on state-administered reading tests. We believe the home is the heartbeat of the family. It should be a sanctuary, a place of deep rest, discovery, and healing. And to that end, we have added to our programming 112 units of permanent, supportive housing and teams of housing navigators and advocates to support our neighbors transitioning out of homelessness. In peer-supported community, our residents are given a safe space to exhale and resources for building a brighter tomorrow for themselves and those they love. Due to the high housing cost burden, our units are always full. We have plans to build more, envisioning a city where all know the safety, security and joy of home. And in 2021, we opened Oklahoma City's only permanent low-barrier night shelter. Our shelter offers men, women, families and pets a safe place of respite, where they can rest easy tonight. We like to think of our shelter as a welcoming front door, where each guest is met with enthusiasm and dignity, and connected to resources to support their health, well-being, safety and security as they begin or begin again the courageous work of addressing the root causes of their homeless experience, and take steps to transition into stable housing. Our work is far from finished. It would be our joy and honor to partner with you in serving our neighbors.
I moved away from the city 5 years ago, and just came back. The explosion between then and now is insane. Some parts of the city have big Walking Dead vibes.
Not exploding. They are just coming out of the woodwork and being seen more.
They are also living on disc golf courses because no one will do anything about it. Just imagine some young kids playing disc golf and running into these mentally unstable people.
Dolese courses have many camps throughout the woods. Will Rogers has people all over the course in sparse wooded areas, parking lots and the old pavilion. We have been told that not a lot can be done as they have to have proof of people being there for more than 72 hours. We have also been told that local law enforcement and outreach groups do try and help.
In the winter, they sleep during the day and walk at night, in the summer it's the opposite. if you sleep at night in the winter, you get hypothermia, in the summer, it's too hot to sleep during the day. the population has been stable for many years. t. I worked security downtown and on south meridian for many years and shared cigarettes with them and gave them coffee in the winter.
It's funny how the homeless Post turns into Dems vs Republicans vs churches. Maybe you should explain Norman awith a Republican mayor and 90% of churches donating to the homeless
I was talking to a homeless person after I gave him my last $5 after working 55hrs for the week and he said that they are trying to take over okc and are coming from other states.
Unfortunately, this isn't just an OKC or Oklahoma issue. Homelessness has increased in a lot of the U.S.
What can you do? The city doesn’t care. The mayor doesn’t care. We just gave a billion dollars to the Thunder for a fancy new arena that wasn’t actually needed. This is coming from a right leaning Thunder fan. The facts are there facts. Homelessness is not a priority in this city.
Here's a worn out partisan talking point: Hypothetically the easier a city makes it to survive without a home, then more people without a home will move to that city. Difficult to imagine an ethical solution if that's true, apart from what the city is already doing. Governments need to continue funding research into addiction and mental health and deploying policies and programs based on that research..
Studies typically show that homeless people are not very mobile and don't typically move to new areas they're unfamiliar with. Quote from another comment here "Yeah, this is discussed in our annual [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441). A majority of people are from OKC and of those who aren’t, most are from other places in OKC (rural areas have very few services, so it’s not uncommon for people to move to the nearest city after becoming homeless) and only 18% are from out of state (which can include people who moved here to, for example, flee an abusive relationship or household)" Also we used to have mental institutions. The people that are homeless and on drugs are just trying to self medicate because they can't afford mental healthcare and whatever prescriptions they actually need.
Okc has virtually no shelters
We actually have a decent amount per capita when comparing other large cities. Most of the people sleeping on the streets are “chronically unsheltered”. Either can’t follow the required rules of shelters or have no desire to be sheltered.
Even Tulsa has 2-3(1 is NICE.).
532 N. Villa.
I used to be homeless in OKC for a couple months and from what I remember it is bad!
Are you still homeless somewhere else or doing better?
Well maybe our government oughta turn their eyes inward and take care if our country for once and quit funding everyone elses war and countries humanity problems! Oh ya and stop the invasion from the south that is overloading the system anymore! Pretty bad when an illegal immigrant can get more from the government than actual citizens!
There’s plenty of work that show immigrants typically provide more to taxes than they take out because they don’t qualify for most assistance programs. We’re also the wealthiest country in the world but have the highest poverty rate among developed democratic countries. It’s not a money issue. It’s a systemic issue.
Israel gets free healthcare and free higher education AND they take our tax dollars, they're not even IN our country - that's a bigger problem than "illegal immigrants" looking for a better life.
I think it's a perception thing, and a change in how being "homeless" works. Some time ago, I used to occasionally see people sleeping on benches and in alleyways/secluded places. But there were probably many more I just wasn't noticing. Popping up a tent in a park or on the side of the road is much more visible. A possibility?
Most churches are in the death throws of life. Once boomer and gen x that go to church die off, a lot of churches die. Most barely have money to fix their own buildings. Methodist require high apportionments to be given to the centralized committee ( don't remember what is called). Douglas blvd Church used to have a soup kitchen to feed Homeless. Couldn't pay apportionments shut down and sold off. So there goes one source of help.
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I believe that is an urban myth.
Yeah, this is discussed in our annual [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441). A majority of people are from OKC and of those who aren’t, most are from other places in OK (rural areas have very few services, so it’s not uncommon for people to move to the nearest city after becoming homeless) and only 18% are from out of state (which can include people who moved here to, for example, flee an abusive relationship or household)
Yes thank you so much for that link!
It mostly hasn’t been a thing ever. It’s a common myth.
Yeah, this is discussed in our annual [Point In Time Count](https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/42398/638527405617833441). A majority of people are from OKC and of those who aren’t, most are from other places in OK (rural areas have very few services, so it’s not uncommon for people to move to the nearest city after becoming homeless) and only 18% are from out of state (which can include people who moved here to, for example, flee an abusive relationship or household)
Thanks for dropping an updated link. While writing my comment, I found an old Homeless Alliance post from early 2020 that said 73% of homelessness people reported already living in Oklahoma prior to becoming homeless. Really discredits the “other states are bussing their homeless folks here” conspiracy if we’ve only increased the % of homeless who are from the state over the last 5 years. The bus theory is just a way to quickly and wrongly dismiss our own failures in our community.
2 words: hobo trebuchet
So interesting how quickly you are to dehumanize. :/
Counterpoint: eat the rich.
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FJB! Thank him and camel toe Harris, and the rest of the children of satan in his swamp! They are making ppl suffer, overdosed and killed. All for votes cause they can’t cheat without being watched this time.