Norman Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman says homelessness has been a topic of discussion for his entire 13-year-long tenure on the city council.
“We've talked about how the weather and the elements in Oklahoma can be problematic all around as far as being outside for extended periods of time,” Holman said. “Very cold in the winter, very hot in the summer, and then severe weather storms, winds, hail in the spring and the fall.”
A bond vote in 2020 included a $5 million proposal for the City to build a permanent shelter where people could stay year-round. It failed.
“That proposal had no details. It was just a five million dollar blank check. It had no design, no location, no operator, no operating budget. Literally no details at all,” Holman said.
Holman said the results of recent City Council races, including his own mayoral race last year, suggest Norman voters support a permanent shelter.
“Last February, every candidate who said they were for it won their election. Every candidate who said they were opposed lost,” he said.
Additionally, the results of a recent survey of Norman voters conducted by Amber Integrated found 86% agreed homeless shelters are important to the community.
In November, the City finalized a purchase agreement for about three acres of Griffin Memorial Hospital property off Reed Avenue. Earlier this month, the City unveiled plans for an $8 million permanent shelter to be built on the property.
The location of the shelter has been a topic of discussion for years, but Holman said the proximity to other service providers, including Norman-based nonprofit Food and Shelter, is one of many reasons the Griffin Memorial location was chosen.
“Most folks don't want to have a homeless shelter near their neighborhood or their business, even if they're typically supportive of there being a shelter. You know, it's kind of a ‘yeah, just as long as it's not near my stuff,’” Holman said. “I'm just pretty adamant that the campus of a 134-year-old state mental institution that has been home to social services for over 100 years is the most logical place of anywhere in Norman for there to be a shelter.”
Shawn Loyd, the Chief Programs Operator for Oklahoma City-based nonprofit City Care, said they have been working to show the community they’re good neighbors since they took over the operation of Norman’s current emergency overnight shelter on Gray Street last year.
“There was a gap between a lot of the citizens or business owners and some of the service providing, and I think we've done a good job of bridging that. We've also done a really good job at bridging relationships with the police department and fire and transportation,” Loyd said.
If Norman voters approve the proposal to build a new shelter, City Care will continue to be the operator. The nonprofit contributed to the design process of the proposed shelter, and Loyd said having a location specifically designed to be a shelter would be a marked improvement.
“It can actually bring more dignity to every guest that we see, just by being in a building designed to provide service, that's designed with the thoughts in mind of what people actually need versus just kind of an emergency situation where you make what you have work,” Loyd said.
The concept design for the shelter includes two buildings — the first with beds for 76 men and 44 women, and the second with family apartments and medical respite rooms. Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant said these expanded services would benefit the whole community.
“People who have surgeries or are recovering from cancer and are unhoused would not have to do that on the street. And that saves the city money and emergency services,” Grant said. “And then we have family rooms envisioned and that means those students, even though it wouldn't be easy to learn when you're unhoused, at least they would have a place to land and then tutors could come to them and work with them in the common areas of the family units.”
The proposed shelter location is within Ward 4, and Grant said a majority of the constituents they’ve spoken to are in support of the shelter, including the Alameda Church of Christ. A community meeting is planned at the church on January 31 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
The proposal is scheduled for a second reading at the Norman City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 27, when the Council could also schedule a bond election for the cost of a new shelter.
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