Homeless Alliance THE FACE OF ADVOCACY
BY REBECCA FAST. PHOTO PROVIDED M eghan Mueller is driven by a simple yet profound belief that all human beings deserve a stable place to call home. As CEO of the Homeless Alliance in Oklahoma City , Mueller works to educate and inspire community advocates to rally around the nonprofit’s mission to end homelessness in Oklahoma City. “Homelessness is never a matter of individual choice,” said Mueller. “It’s always a complex interplay of varying circumstances and systems. “As Oklahomans, we take pride in living by the Oklahoma standard of offering a helping hand to our neighbors, and this standard should extend to all our neighbors — whether they have homes or they’re living outside.” Mueller’s journey with the Homeless Alliance began during a graduate school internship. “I vividly remember discovering this career path and being in disbelief that this could be my job, that I could help people in such a meaningful way,” she recalled.
At the time, she joined the organization as its 15th employee and found her calling to stand in the gap for one of the city’s most vulnerable populations. Over the past decade, she held various roles before assuming the helm in 2024, following the retirement of her predecessor and mentor, Dan Straughn. Today, the Homeless Alliance has 160 employees with additional hires during the winter, and operates a multi-agency homeless resource campus with essential services including health clinics, veteran resources, budgeting and legal assistance. Crisis response services are offered through the agency’s day and winter shelters, and it manages four low-barrier employment programs: the Curbside Chronicle, Curbside Flowers, Sasquatch Shaved Ice and Curbside Apparel. “We typically help more than 850 people a year transition from the streets, shelters and other unsuitable living situations into permanent housing,” said Mueller.
Families with children are one of the fastest-growing homeless subpopulations in Oklahoma City, and as the city’s growth drives up rent costs, the Homeless Alliance’s work becomes more critical than ever. However, Mueller remains hopeful about the future of the organization and the support it receives from community partners. “We are so lucky to have a community of providers who are committed to working together, to being strategic and to leaning in when things are challenging,” Mueller said. “Our network of providers values collaboration, which is so exciting. I am so grateful to be dreaming about the future of our organization and our city’s continued work to end homelessness.”
Homeless Alliance 1724 N.W. 4th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73106 homelessalliance.org
METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 55
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