Thursday, January 23rd 2025, 8:07 pm
Homeless Deaths in OKC
A local nonprofit says two people experiencing homelessness died from hypothermia this week.
Concerns are heightened even more this time of year, as bitterly cold temperatures pose a risk for those on the streets.
The medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of death in these cases.
Current Point in Time In Oklahoma City and Edmond
About 120 volunteers from across Oklahoma City were out Thursday morning, going to various encampments doing this year’s Point in Time counts at different places like shelters and addiction centers.
The counts include people sleeping outside, in their cars, or those that are in shelters.
The City’s Strategy Implementation Manager, Jamie Caves, says approximately 85% of people become homeless in Oklahoma and 65% in Oklahoma City. Caves adds these counts combined with trends over the years to help gather data to see how services are working.
“Point in Time counts really kind of determine what we’re going to do over the next year and what strategies we’re going to implement. So we’re going to be looking at ways we need to improve the system or different strategies we need to take, which ultimately improves the lives of those experiencing homelessness,” said Caves.
In Edmond, city leaders say at least 15 unhoused people were included in the Point in Time Count. Leaders say that is not a final count.
Point in Time counts are done in Jan. because it’s the coldest time of year. Officials say you get the most accurate counts during this time because the cold weather brings more people into shelters.
The full reports will be turned in to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this summer.
Point in Time History
Cities conduct a Point in Time survey each year.
Oklahoma City’s estimated population for last year was more than 709,000 people.
In Edmond, the official count was 14 people experiencing homelessness in 2024. In 2023, it was 12 and in 2020 it was two.
Senate Bill 484, Terminating City-Funded
As cities are seeing an increase in numbers, there's proposed legislation to end city-funded assistance for people experiencing homelessness. Senate Bill 484, written by Sen. Lisa Standridge, would prevent any city with fewer than 300,000 residents from providing services to the unhoused.
Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the only two cities that would not be impacted by the legislation.
Edmond Candidates Talk on County Shelter
Homelessness was one of the topics that David Hornbeek, Mark Nash, Tom Robins, and Leonard Scott discussed during the Edmond Mayoral debate Wednesday night.
“I can tell you for a fact that we have well over 50 people every single morning visit Breakfast on Blvd. People who are homeless, people who are struggling to get by,” said Mark Nash. “We’ve got to do something because you look at what's going on on nights like we’ve had this week and where do they go at night.”
The candidates had a consensus that something needed to be done to provide resources for the unhoused community, but when asked if a new shelter should be built in Edmond, all four candidates vying to become the next mayor said no.
“I don't think Edmond has the numbers right now that it would need its own homeless shelter, no,” said Robins.
“We are a billion dollars in debt. No, we do not need a shelter here in Edmond,” said Scott.
Instead, they proposed the idea of working with the municipalities in Oklahoma County to create one shelter.
“I think this is a perfect thing. We could approach all of the municipalities in the county and try to create one location. One of the problems is where it's going to be located. Well if we could make it a county project we could get it outside of the city limits of every city, place it somewhere in the county, and have less resistance to it,” said Hornbeek.
“We have to figure out how to deal with it long term, and part of it whether we like it or not is going to be some type of shelter,” said Nash.
Edmond does have a handful of temporary shelters and nonprofits providing for the unhoused including Grace Rescue Mission, Hope Center, and the Samaritan House.
Haley Weger joined the News 9 team as a multi-media journalist in August 2022. She came to OKC from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Haley began her career as a producer and multi-media reporter and then transitioned to a morning anchor position. While she was in Louisiana, Haley covered an array of news topics, and covered multiple hurricanes on the coast.
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