Strategic Plan | Housing Solutions Tulsa

A Way Home for Tulsa's Strategic Plan

Tulsans have offered their ideas, hopes, concerns and strategies for making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring for the members of our community. From their ideas and passion came the decision to embark on a year-long strategic planning process in 2019.

The strategies outlined in this plan emphasize not only housing people currently experiencing homelessness in Tulsa, but also proactively preventing future homelessness among Tulsa’s residents. The strategies also reflect nationally recognized evidence-based practices and innovative thinking at the local level. The work will be significant and will require collaboration across sectors, but the passion of Tulsans and their commitment to the well-being of all members of our community can — and will — make positive change.

The vision is to improve the quality of life for all people living in Tulsa by creating a community where homelessness — if it occurs — is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

GOAL 1

GOAL 2

GOAL 3

GOAL 4

Stop Homelessness Before It Begins

The first and most cost-efficient method of reducing homelessness is to stop it from happening before it begins.

Reduce unnecessary evictions and support those who are or might be evicted to avoid homelessness

Improve policies and processes related to eviction court
Identify and challenge landlords with excessively high numbers of evictions
Provide information, tools and legal support to people who are, or are at risk of, being evicted
Provide support to landlords to prevent evictions
Improve and expand eviction prevention funding resources

Improve discharge policies and supports to reduce the number of individuals that exit institutions and systems of care and end up in homelessness

Change discharge policies to ensure safe exit from institutions and systems of care, including corrections, health care and foster care
Create processes to improve service connections before and after discharge from corrections, foster care and health care systems
Extend resource availability for a longer period of time after discharge, including housing, employment support and community connections

94%

retained permanent housing after participating in AWH4T diversion or prevention programs.

1st

update to the Landlord-Tenant Act in 40 years - deducting rent if landlord fails to make repairs.

Transform the Homeless System of Care to be More Effective, Equitable and Person-Centered

Tulsa’s systems of care needs to meet the modern needs of residents in need. Efficiencies, equitable outcomes and a focus on the individual must guide every provider decision.

Understand the need, allocate resources and support implementation at the system level

Create outcome and service standards for homeless programs
Analyze the system annually to identify gaps, inequities and inefficiencies to create annual funding and action priorities
Direct resources to effective and/or innovative programs
Provide training, technical assistance and resources to providers and community partners
Lower barriers to access the homeless system of care

Provide services to reduce barriers to housing

Support Medicaid expansion and other policies to reduce homelessness in Oklahoma
Co-locate services to reduce barriers to access
Improve access to employment and education resources
Provide trauma-informed care
Coordinate services across systems of care
Increase case management to support access to housing
Expand access to transportation to and from court, services, education and employment

$5.38M

dollars added to renewable funding through the Youth Homelessness Development Project.

93%

rentenion rate for rapid rehousing programs.

Increase Access to Housing

Tulsa must prioritize affordable housing through policy and process changes. The affordable housing crisis is growing and affects Tulsans beyond the homeless population, who have little chance to find housing with so few options available.

Revise policies to prioritize affordable housing

Change local policies to produce quality, affordable housing and preserve existing
housing stock
Reduce policy-level barriers to housing
Implement a five-year affordable housing plan
Build partnerships to implement new housing creation strategies

Connect tenants to units

Create systems and tools to support households at risk of or experiencing homelessness
to find and access housing
Engage and support landlords and housing providers to increase housing availability
Support tenants who have stabilized in homeless housing to transition to other housing options, increasing service and unit availability for people who are currently homeless
Increase availability of permanent housing for people who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness
Create a flexible fund(s) to reduce barriers to housing

$500M

Mayor's challenge to increase affordable housing.

96%

of participants who exited to perm housing retained their housing.

Partner Across Tulsa to Build Solutions and Access Resources

Support for people exiting homelessness extends beyond any one agency or type of organization. Existing homeless organizations must modernize and collaborate along with local leaders, employers, schools and others to end homelessness as a focused community.

Increase community support

Increase community support for people exiting homelessness through partnerships
with employers, faith-based organizations, businesses, volunteers, formerly homeless
individuals, and other community members
Identify leadership to support plan implementation

Increase state and federal support

Improve data collection and sharing across the systems of care serving people experiencing homelessness
Increase inflow of federal, state and local resources for ending and preventing homelessness

300

volunteers at the Point-in-Time Count and Winter Shelter.

48

A Way Home for Tulsa Agencies - up from 30 agencies in 2020.

Overall Implementation Update - Year 3

Where has plan progress accelerated?

Developing emergency shelter alternatives
Eviction prevention strategies and partners
Data analysis, sharing, quality and transparency
CES prioritization & equitable access
Increasing funding
Public awareness