One year after embarking on an ambitious plan to significantly reduce Oklahoma City’s chronically unsheltered homeless population, a new rehousing initiative is forging ahead at breakneck speed. The official Key to Home rollout began last month following a yearlong pilot program. Now that case managers and other partners have completed training, the goal is to close two to three of the city’s 50 homeless encampments a month and rehouse 250 people a year for the next two years. “Typically, it takes several months to get someone rehoused. We’ve decreased that time exponentially, down to just three to six weeks,” said Lindsay Cates, strategy implementation manager for the city's Homeless Services department. The Key to Home rehousing initiative involves outreach, apartment placement and weekly visits from case managers providing stabilization services. Under this plan, the city hopes to reduce the number of unsheltered homeless people by 75% in just two years. Cates said she was excited to see an 80% acceptance rate during the yearlong pilot. During visits to the encampments, case managers spoke to people living there and asked if they wanted help moving into an apartment. Cates said some people were skeptical. One woman said she wasn’t interested right up until the day before move- ins. But when she saw others in the encampment packing up their stuff and moving out, she changed her mind. “She said, ‘Is there any way I can still do this?’ We were able – with private dollars – to hold that unit and say, ‘Yes, we can get you in tomorrow.’ So, she moved in and is still stably housed. I think that shows that consistent engagement of our providers is crucial to build trust.” Cates said many of the people have struggled to use support services because they require visits to multiple OKC RAMPS UP KEY TO HOME REHOUSING INITIATIVE
offices in different locations. For someone without transportation, food and a safe place to live, the task can feel overwhelming. “By going to the encampments, we start breaking down those barriers. Because the case manager is coming to them and finding out what services are needed, they’re able to access those services more quickly.” One man, a veteran, was able to access his Veterans Administration benefits for the first time. His case manager also helped him understand and begin receiving his pension from General Motors. “The fact that he is still engaged with services a year later, to me, shows that he wants to be part of a community and can be a neighbor and tenant,” said Cates. The city has nearly three dozen community partners providing case management and other services, including the Homeless Alliance, Mental Health Association, City Rescue Mission, Catholic Charities, Northcare, Legal Aid and Urban League. “One of our goals is to continue to build partnerships. As we continue to grow, we’re going to need more resources,” said Cates. Fostering a collaborative relationship with local landlords is also part of the strategy. To accomplish that, a partner agency engages with landlords and handles negotiations. “That is starting to make a significant difference. We’re still looking for more landlords and more units. With those partnerships, we feel like we’re going to continue to build the pipeline of housing. We need more affordable housing now and we need it in the future,” said Cates. MAPS 4 included $55 million for affordable housing. The Oklahoma City Housing Authority will use those funds to redevelop about 1,500 public housing units and build 600 new ones.
“Typically, it takes several months to get someone rehoused. We’ve decreased that time exponentially, down to just three to six weeks” - Lindsay Cates, Homeless Strategy Implementation Manager
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