As part of an effort to address homelessness, Tulsa City Council has approved a budget amendment enabling the rollout of the Safe Move Tulsa Rehousing Plan. The initiative, spearheaded by the city's leadership, pledges to house approximately 300 individuals within the forthcoming nine months. According to a recent release on the city's official website, this initiative aligns with Tulsa's broader objective of ending homelessness by 2030. The funding combines a $4,367,700 allocation from the Walmart Opioid Settlement SubFund and the Pandemic Relief Recovery Fund with additional ARPA resources, resulting in a total investment of $6 million.
The recent funding allocation represents another step in the city's efforts to address homelessness. "More than 1,400 Tulsans are experiencing homelessness right now and many of them simply need a hand up," Mayor Nichols stated in a release from the City of Tulsa. The Safe Move initiative is designed to provide more than housing, offering up to one year of supportive services, including health care, mental health support, addiction treatment, and financial literacy programs. Council Chair Phil Lakin, Jr. pointed to challenges associated with extended shelter stays and noted that moving individuals into apartments may ease capacity issues at local shelters and improve outcomes for those experiencing homelessness.
A statistic from the latest Point in Time (PIT) Count reveals that 1,449 people in Tulsa face homelessness daily. In light of these numbers, the Safe Move Tulsa Rehousing Plan will not only offer shelter beds to the continually rising counts of chronically homeless individuals but also to those in need of support services. Housing Solutions Tulsa alongside A Way Home for Tulsa partners have been tasked with the rehousing and providing individualized support within a 12-month frame. This proactive strategy aims at decommissioning homeless encampments by systematically moving those helped into shelters and onward to long-term accommodation solutions.
Council Chair Lakin stressed a profound need for mental health and addiction services among the homeless. "Resources and housing units are available now. For our collective community’s benefit, which has endured so very much, we must take this next step along the housing pathway by moving people from permanently closed encampments into shelters, and then from shelters into temporary and/or long-term housing," Lakin expressed in a press release. The shortage of affordable housing continues to be a major barrier for many individuals seeking stable living conditions, and the city recognizes that securing housing is a critical step for those facing such challenges.
The City of Tulsa continues to advance efforts to address homelessness through various initiatives, including the development of low-barrier shelters and winter inclement weather shelters. In response to the ongoing housing shortage, the city has also taken steps to increase housing availability. This includes appointing an administrator to manage \$75 million allocated from the Improve Our Tulsa 3 package for housing projects. Additional programs such as a fast-track permitting process, the Community Builder Pilot Program, and the Pre-Approved Plans Program (T-Town Home Catalog) are being implemented to improve access to housing. For more detailed information about Safe Move Tulsa, including frequently asked questions, residents can visit the city's official information page.
