We are continuing our Early & Often series, highlighting why it’s so important to connect with your state legislators before the next legislative session begins. These early conversations can help shape the bills your legislators choose to author, sponsor, and support, while improving outcomes for your neighbors and your community. Last week, we focused on […]
Speak Up for Mental Health: Why Early Advocacy Matters Read More »
Oklahoma is at a critical crossroads. Across the state, we face a shortage of nearly 85,000 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters. At the same time, Oklahoma has one of the highest eviction rates in the nation. Together, these two realities create a volatile situation where too many families struggle to find
Why Oklahoma’s Housing Crisis Needs Your Voice Read More »
For Oklahomans who care deeply about improving outcomes for our neighbors, especially those experiencing homelessness or mental illness, recent news has been hard to hear. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services recently announced $40 million in cuts to service providers, ending nearly 300 contracts with organizations statewide. Just days later, Governor
When Should You Contact Your State Legislators? Early & Often. Read More »
For most of today, partner agencies across Oklahoma City, including Mental Health Association Oklahoma, are putting their boots on the ground to conduct its annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count, an essential initiative aimed at providing a snapshot of homelessness in the community. At 3:00 a.m. well over 100 hyper-caffeinated volunteers bundled up to kick off the
MHAOK and other Key to Home partner agencies conduct OKC’s annual Point-In-Time Count Read More »
Homelessness: By the Numbers One week from today, partner agency staff across Oklahoma City – including MHAOK – will gather at 3:30 a.m., divide into groups of six and head out into hidden corners of the city to count as many people experiencing homelessness as we can find. The same count will take place in
The Importance of Shelters and Outreach Teams in Oklahoma Read More »
Imagine a bridge. One side of it is rickety, precarious. The area on that side of the bridge is derelict, but most don’t know it because most don’t see it. It could be hidden by trees or dilapidated structures, or it could go unseen simply because so many people don’t know or care to look.
As we continue to advocate for the most vulnerable Oklahomans, we recognize and applaud the innovative leadership at all levels who work alongside us in this fight to end homelessness. As our own Kelly Dyer Fry said in Sunday’s op-ed for the Oklahoman (a paper at which she was the editor for nearly a decade),
An inside view of Governor Stitt’s dissolution of the GICH Read More »
As the premier boots-on-the-ground nonprofit whose expertise and work primarily exists at the intersection of mental illness and homelessness, we were disheartened to learn of Governor Stitt’s decision to disband the 19 year-old Oklahoma’s Governor on Interagency Council on Homelessness (GICH). 2News Oklahoma reached out to us for comment, and past chair of the GICH
