Federal homeless report shows successes, deficits
Although the state’s homeless population declined over the past year, more people are spending nights on Oklahoma’s streets, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Oklahoma saw a 7.8 percent decline in overall homelessness over the past year, and a 26 percent drop since 2010, according to the 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, released Monday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
But the state’s unsheltered homeless population — those living outdoors, in places not meant for human habitation — grew by 6.8 percent over the past year, according to the report.
Across the state, advocates tallied 3,871 homeless people during an annual single-night count. During the same count last year, advocates counted 4,199 homeless people. Advocates generally estimate that the total homeless population for the entire year is four to five times the single-night total, meaning Oklahoma’s homeless population for 2018 is between 15,484 and 19,355.
During this year’s single-night count, advocates counted 1,191 unsheltered homeless people, up from 1,115 in 2017.
Greg Shinn, incoming chairman of the Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, said the state’s decline in homelessness among veterans is particularly encouraging. Oklahoma saw a 10.3 percent drop in veteran homelessness since last year, outpacing a nationwide decline of 5 percent.
Shinn, who serves as associate director and chief housing officer for the Tulsa-based nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma, attributed the improvement in the state’s homeless population to policies that prioritize placing people into affordable housing, then providing them with services to address other issues such as mental health problems, addiction or unemployment.
In nearly every case, Shinn said, when a person is placed into housing and provided with those services, that person never falls into homelessness again.
Driving the state’s growing unsheltered homeless population is a strong uptick in unsheltered homelessness in Oklahoma City, which saw a 47 percent increase since last year, according to a report released in September.
In Oklahoma City, 18.5 percent of people in homeless families are unsheltered, one of the highest rates among the country’s major cities, according to Monday’s report.
Jerod Shadid, of the community development division of the city of Oklahoma City’s planning department, said the large rate of unsheltered homeless families is likely driven by two factors: an inadequate number of emergency shelter beds with few restrictions and a large amount of property development, which leads to vacant properties being torn down.