OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – City officers and the Homeless Alliance are teaming as much as document the variety of people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City.
It’s a yearly survey carried out to know and tackle the problem. The aim is to be taught the challenges going through the homeless inhabitants and discover options.
“We’re also asking questions about what would have helped you to prevent you from becoming homeless and what services you need that you’re having trouble accessing mental health services, substance use treatment services, rental assistance,” stated Dan Straughan, Executive Director of Homeless Alliance.
With that information, Homeless Alliance can develop applications among the many nonprofit and faith-based suppliers in Oklahoma City to handle these service gaps.
Teams from homeless service suppliers will go to shelters, scorching meal applications, and encampments to rely and survey unhoused people.
Communities that obtain federal funding are required to conduct the survey.
“This is a particularly difficult population to count accurately,” stated Jerod Shadid, program planner for the City of Oklahoma City’s Homeless Services. “So many variables can come collectively to have an effect on the rely, reminiscent of climate or improved counting methods. That’s why it’s so essential that service suppliers from our group come collectively to research developments and determine the place we have to focus our restricted assets.
A tedious rely opens the door for brand new alternatives and applications that’ll assist probably the most susceptible.
Just like the remainder of Oklahoma City’s unhoused inhabitants, Wendy Kirk depends on service suppliers for meals, clothes, and a heat place to remain.
For three years, the mom of 4 has chosen to reside on the streets after experiencing a verbally abusive relationship.
“You shouldn’t judge because it’s not always their choice to be unhoused,” stated Kirk. “It’s scary sometimes, and you must [look] over your shoulder and make sure nobody’s going to attack you.”
For the Homeless Alliance, the annual rely permits people like Wendy to share their tales.
In 2022, the rely revealed 1,339 Oklahomans had been experiencing homelessness in the capital metropolis.
The nonprofit expects that quantity to extend due to the rapid rise in the cost of rent and the necessity for extra inexpensive housing.
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