Criminal Justice Resource Nonprofit Diversion Hub Closer To Construction Of New OKC Facility

Oklahoma is well above the national average for incarceration, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.  

The metro nonprofit Diversion Hub tries to stop cycles and create proactive solutions. The organization’s new building is closer to construction.  

In July the city council approved the final plans for Diversion Hub’s new facility.  The new building offers more room for its leaders to continue reforming the criminal justice system. 

“It’s gonna be a great addition and hopefully it helps Diversion Hub do more of the wonderful things that they do,” said David Todd, MAPS program manager for Oklahoma City. 

This month OKC Council members gave their blessing to a new building. The future of Diversion Hub will soon rest along OKC’s Linwood Blvd on the edge of downtown.  

“We’re able to provide them with so much more space,” Todd said. “We get to design this so it really works well for them.” 

The 18-million-dollar project comes from MAPS 4 funding, a debt-free public improvement program funded by a temporary penny sales tax that voters approved in 2019.  

“Whenever this project’s finished, it’s paid for,” Todd said. “[Diversion Hub] is certainly an integral piece of that. They do great things.” 

Diversion Hub Executive Director Meagan Taylor and her team work to stop Oklahoma’s incarceration cycles as well as inequities in the criminal justice system. 

“When I was a prosecutor, I saw the same people coming through the dockets over and over again,” said Taylor, in an interview with News 9 last August. "We've been in the top three in incarceration rates for quite some time. I think our ultimate goal is to change the system altogether.” 

The nonprofit helps thousands of people every year navigate a complicated justice system and gives them access to resources so they can heal.  

“We are costing a lot of taxpayer dollars that are going to locking people up, putting them on probation, and then wondering why they’re not successful,” said Taylor, in an interview with News 9 on July 15. 

The city is accepting bids for the project, and they expect to reward a contract by the end of the summer. Leaders said the new Diversion Hub location will allow the nonprofit to reach more people and reduce encounters with the criminal legal system.