Caring Community Friends held a zoom meeting with Claudia Brierre, Manager of Housing and Community Development at the Indian Nation Council of Governments (INCOG), and other local community organizations such as CREOKS, and Youth Services of Creek County to learn more about monies available through INCOG to help provide shelter for the homeless in Creek County.
Dr. Camille Teale opened the meeting by having members identify themselves, then turned the meeting over to Ms. Brierre, who began her presentation by saying: “I am kind of overwhelmed by how many agencies, organizations, and community members who are working together to address the homeless issue there in Creek County.”
Brierre mentioned that the Tulsa Home Consortium serves six counties and eighteen jurisdictions within those countries and that the City of Tulsa is not a member. She explained that Tulsa receives a separate allocation of funding from HUD (Housing and Urban Development).
“This is a conversation about the remainder of the area. This includes Creek County, Osage County, Washington County, Wagoner and Rogers Counties, and the remainder of Tulsa County, not including the City of Tulsa.”
“We are going through a public engagement process, reaching out to organizations, non-profits, City and County governments that deal with the homeless issue in the area, just to listen, to hear what the needs are that you might have,” Brierre said.
Brierre said that this funding is not available to places like emergency shelters or warming stations. “The activities that are eligible under this Home American Rescue Plan are tenant-based rental assistance, and non-congregant shelters,” she said. “It is individual rooms for individuals and families. It is the development of permanent supportive housing and funding for supportive housing services to nonprofits.”
Brierre says that her department is focused on serving the populations of the homeless, those at risk of homelessness, and victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, victims of human trafficking, and veterans. The goal is to find where gaps in services may expand and how the program can better address the needs of the aforementioned population.
Amber Adams with CREOKS said “With the population I work with, the need for income-based or low-income housing is something I see increasing as long as the price of rent keeps increasing and wages are not. A Lot of the peopleI interact with on a daily basis are literally one illness away from losing where they live, just because prices are so volatile right now.”
Kevin Day, who operates Lifegate Freedom Recovery Ministries asked if there was money available for operations. And Ms. Brierre said that no money was available for operational expenses. ”It is a major drawback to non-profits who provide housing.” She said money was available for support services such as case management.
Kayla Jordan, also with CREOKS, said “There are not any shelters here in Creek County, and so for all of the people that are truly chronically homeless that I serve.”
She remarked that responding to their needs is often cumbersome and time-consuming. “There is no fast solution to getting them housed,” she said. “There is no day center here, and in Creek County, there is just a huge lack of housing and lack of services for the population that I serve, which is the homeless and people with mental conditions.”
Participants brought up the possibility of building “tiny homes” and the possible rehabilitation of closed nursing homes.
The consensus of Alliance members is that there is a homeless problem in Creek County, and there is an urgent need for affordable housing, especially family housing.
Brierre says the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $5 billion to provide housing, service, and shelter to individuals experiencing homeless and other vulnerable populations.
A Needs and Gaps analysis is currently being undertaken and an allocation plan will be developed and submitted to HUD by March 31st.
