Strategies to Address Homelessness in Oklahoma City

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Sponsored by the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, City of Oklahoma City

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Combating homelessness requires a broad range of strategies to help residents experiencing homelessness move into permanent housing and achieve housing stability.

The 2021 Strategies to Address Homelessness in Oklahoma City provides a roadmap for the community to reduce and prevent homelessness and to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City. Homeless delivery systems are complex and unique to each community. They include multiple organizations working to meet the many needs of people experiencing homelessness, often with extremely limited resources. Communities need a coordinated approach to address homelessness as they move from a collection of individual programs to a strategic, data-driven community-wide response.

A strategic plan to address homelessness helps communities set goals and prioritize the actions organizations in the homeless delivery system should take. Our plan details 24 strategies for the community to implement to enhance homeless service delivery and help residents experiencing homelessness to move into permanent housing and achieve housing stability.

Download the full report here, and scroll down for highlights of the report's OKC Action Plan and more.

OKC Action Plan

The OKC Action Plan's eight areas of focus are:

Download the full OKC Action Plan (pages 25-83).

How the plan was created

Interviews with over 50 stakeholders
Review of data from Homeless Services database
Four meetings of the Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness
One task force workshop
One public input meeting
12 planning sessions with service providers, task force members and other stakeholders
11 working group meetings with task force members and service providers to refine strategies

State of homelessness in OKC

Local homeless service organizations count the number of persons who are experiencing homelessness during a 24-hour period. Known as a point-in-time or PIT count, this provides a snapshot of homelessness in a community. On March 3, 2022, 1,339 men, women and children were identified as homeless in OKC. 428 individuals were unsheltered or about 35% of the homeless population.

Point in Time Study (2022)

“Homelessness is a multidimensional challenge. To address it, we need to address mental health, addiction and employment. You need services to change lives and help people get out of the situation they are in.”

– Key Stakeholder

Plan implementation

To address the challenges of implementing the strategic plan, it is recommended that a strategic planning manager be established to coordinate the planning activities necessary to implement the various strategies presented throughout this action plan. Many strategies presented herein include convening multiple stakeholders, securing funding and commitments by community organizations and others to provide services, and tracking key performance measures. The strategic planning manager would be responsible for coordinating and managing these activities, as well as communicating the benefits of implementing the recommended strategies to OKC residents and taxpayers. It is recommended that this position be housed in the Planning Department and work with current homeless services staff.