Catholic Charities has cut the ribbon on Caritas Casitas, a tight-knit cluster of 12 Boxabl studio homes in Stockyards City that offers people leaving homelessness an affordable, private place to land. Each compact unit comes in at roughly 375 square feet with a full kitchen, bathroom and in‑unit washer‑dryer, and rents run about $850 a month with utilities included. Nine of the 12 homes are already filled, according to News9.
How the Casitas Work
The homes are prefabricated BOXABL casitas that were delivered to the site, unfolded, then set on concrete pads and arranged as six two‑story duplexes on a compact lot, according to Catholic Charities. Each unit has a footprint of about 20 by 20 feet and roughly 375 square feet of living space that includes a full kitchen, bathroom, washer‑dryer and heating and air conditioning. The buildings are pulled together around a small common green that is meant to spark casual neighborly interaction while still giving residents their own front doors and privacy.
Quick To Build, Quick To Move In
Project manager David Hernandez told News9 that the units are fast to deploy, saying “they unpack and set up quickly, one house in about four to five hours.” The outlet also reported that the project drew some of its funding from federal American Rescue Plan dollars and that nine of the 12 casitas are already occupied. For people coming out of shelters, organizers say that speed translates into an unusually quick path to stable, long‑term housing instead of another long waitlist.
Who Can Rent
The nonprofit says the casitas are reserved for households earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income and that the project prioritizes people exiting shelter or using emergency housing vouchers, according to Catholic Charities. Hernandez told News9 that Section 8 is an option for some clients but “not always viable,” a reminder that having a voucher in hand does not guarantee a landlord or a unit. Case managers are continuing to work directly with voucher holders and local shelters to move people into available homes as quickly as possible.
Why It Matters
Caritas Casitas is one small piece of a much larger attempt to plug Oklahoma’s affordable housing gap. The National Low Income Housing Coalition has documented a significant mismatch between what renters earn and what it costs to keep a roof overhead in the state. Local analysis points to rising rents and flat wages as major drivers of housing instability for low wage workers, according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Advocates argue that small, relatively low cost developments like this one can keep at least some people off the streets while broader policy fixes and new construction catch up.
Organizers describe Caritas Casitas as a pilot they would like to grow if they can secure more land and funding, and local coverage notes that staff and residents hope to see the concept copied in other parts of the city, according to KOCO. For now, Catholic Charities is focused on helping current tenants settle in and on tracking costs and outcomes in detail, with an eye toward making the case for more pocket neighborhoods across Oklahoma City.
