Community organizers have a big goal — reduce homelessness in Oklahoma City by 75% by 2025 — and after several months of a new program, they’re making steady progress.
On any given day, about 1,400 people experience homelessness in Oklahoma City, according to 2023 data . About 500 are sleeping outside, with a growing number of them having been homeless for over a year. Today, the Key to Home Partnership works to rehouse OKC’s homeless population from various encampment sites, similar to other initiatives in the U.S.
“This is the Oklahoma Standard,” said Clay Moss, chair of Key to Home and managing director at the Hall Capital investment firm in Oklahoma City . “We have to solve this as a city so that our kids and the next generation can see an improvement.”
Over 40 agencies came together to build Key to Home Partnership, a public-private alliance with a governance board that’s funded by federal grants, municipal allocations and philanthropic support .
Lindsay Cates, who served last year as implementation manager for Key to Home, said the partnership hopes to rehouse 250 people by the end of this summer and another 250 by late 2025 to reach the overall goal of a 75% reduction in the homeless population.