Can anyone say,"Beyond?" The "Real Estate Elite" in Tulsa, OK are only perilously annoyed by unguarded "psychotic despots of patriotic apathy and despair."
Tulsa, Oklahoma has many places that provide services for people experiencing homelessness, including shelters, social services, and other organizations. Although, homelessness is a pervasive social apathy affecting stigmatized patrons worldwide. $125.7 million has been devoted to housing, homelessness, and mental health since 2023. 2,675 Tulsa homeless residents have been served by A Better Way, the City’s panhandling diversion program, since 2020. 1,437 new housing units have been permitted by the City of Tulsa since 2023.
Oklahoma lawmakers on Wednesday April 17, 2024, advanced legislation that would allow law enforcement to immediately remove squatters at the request of a property owner.
Supporters said Senate Bill 1994 will ensure property rights are protected and avoid protracted litigation to remove trespassers, but critics argued that it is another legislative attempt to further criminalize homelessness.
The bill requires a sheriff to immediately boot an unlawful occupant, but a property owner must first ask the person to leave the property.
Also, property owners cannot ask a sheriff to remove current or former tenants, anyone who used the property as their address of record within the past year, family members or if litigation is pending.
The American Psychiatric Association noted that police are also more likely to use excessive force when they interact with unhoused people with mental illness.
Even when “well-intentioned law enforcement responders” respond to calls for help, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the situations often escalate due to “the presence of police vehicles and armed officers that generate anxiety.”
Fining, ticketing, or arresting unhoused people — which local governments will be more easily able to do if Grants Pass is overturned — will make it harder for homeless people, who already cannot afford shelter, to obtain permanent housing later on.
Having a criminal record can make it more difficult to land a job, stable housing, and receive government benefits. Even among those who do find jobs, employees with records generally face significant earning penalties.
The “Real Estate Elite” claiming sole ownership of people as their own property never felt encouraged by home offerings or successes. However, some other organizations provide services for people experiencing homelessness in Tulsa, OK.
- Family Promise Of Tulsa County: A non-profit organization
- Mamas Transitional Housing: A social services organization
Overwhelmingly, American communities are becoming detached from insouciant organizations pretending to be fully immersed in the causes of homelessness.
Fining the insolvent is a cynical exercise,” wrote the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in its Supreme Court brief. “Outstanding debt impairs households’ ability to pay security deposits to move into permanent housing and can show up in credit screening reports that landlords use to deny admission to housing.” One federal study found roughly one in five landlords who place conditions on accepting rental aid and impose credit score requirements.
Experts say there are other “collateral consequences” that can come from punishing people for violating anti-sleeping ordinances, including stripping people of their right to vote, their right to renew their driver’s license, and their probation.
A person who damages a property while unlawfully occupying it could be sentenced up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, who authored the legislation, said the bill has nothing to do with homelessness, but “everything to do with property rights.” It ensures that people who legally own a property have a say in what goes on.
He said just because a home or property is vacant doesn’t mean someone can move in without permission and live there.
Rep. Rande Worthen, R-Lawton, said there have been incidents in rural Oklahoma where people are illegally pulling up trailers and refusing to leave.
He said it could take longer than a month to formally go through the legal process to evict.
But Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, said HB 1994 seems aimed at criminalizing homelessness.
On Monday, April 22, 2024, The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the most consequential case in decades concerning the rights of people experiencing homelessness.
In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court will decide whether it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment to fine, ticket, or jail someone for sleeping outside on public property if they have nowhere else to go. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would make it easier for communities to clear out homeless people’s tent encampments, even if no available housing or shelter exists.
Over 650,000 people in America experience homelessness on any given night, and roughly 40 percent of those individuals are sleeping outside on the streets, in cars, parks, train stations, and other settings not designed primarily for human residence. Federal data published in late 2023 shows a rise in homelessness in most states.
In two major decisions over the last six years, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that criminalizing homelessness when a city lacks adequate shelter or housing violates the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution. But amid a worsening homelessness crisis, government leaders have pressed the Supreme Court to reconsider, arguing those earlier rulings were incorrectly decided and left them unable to safely manage their communities.
“The Ninth Circuit and respondents have tried to downplay the ways in which the ruling ties local leaders’ hands, but their arguments only confirm the decision’s ambiguity and unworkability,” Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in an amicus brief filed in September.
Though leaders like Newsom say they have no desire to criminalize the homeless, that will be the most likely outcome in some places if the Supreme Court overturns Grants Pass. Some leaders in other cities have been more explicit that they hope to make their communities so inhospitable that homeless people will ultimately leave.
Some advocates predict that the overturn of Grants Pass with no real housing alternative could lead to the erection of mass internment camps “akin to refugee camps that currently exist in other countries,” as one group warned in its Supreme Court brief.
In Oklahoma the number of individuals utilizing emergency shelters has significantly increased, highlighting the immediate need for accessible, temporary housing solutions. 73% of respondents reported first experiencing homelessness within Tulsa County, reinforcing the necessity for local solutions to this community issue.
As of November 2023, the latest homeless count was 1,133. A community survey by Tulsa Police shows that right now the homelessness problem is Tulsa’s top concern. This Modern Day Sociopath is steadier, more persistent, more sustained, more incessant, more relentless, more everlasting, more interminable, than any historical reminder of the poverty, degradation, and hopelessness our pedestrian communities must confront.
While pressure for criminalization of homeless people would increase if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Grants Pass plaintiffs, it is not inevitable that criminalization will occur. Jesse Rabinowitz, a spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center, pointed to states’ responses to the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade as an example of an alternative path.
“Just because states could inhibit abortion [after Roe’s overturn] didn’t mean they all did, and we saw many states pass constitutional amendments ensuring abortion protections,” he said. “The very same thing could happen for homelessness, though right now we’re laser-focused on April 22.”
The national rate of Americans experiencing homelessness in 2023 was approximately 19.4 people per 10,000. Mississippi had the lowest rate of homelessness, at 3.3 people per 10,000, while in other states — namely New York and Vermont — the rate jumps to more than 50 per 10,000. New York City ranked in the No. 1 spot, with a homeless population of over 88,000 — a roughly 13% increase from 2020. Oklahoma’s homelessness population fluctuates from 1,333 to 3,754 every year or so.
Togetherness must be practiced. It’s not possible to imagine a world difference with nowhere left to go.
We must practice proactive compassion to empower people everywhere to have a home. To achieve proactive compassion our employee labor force must bridge income gaps and create a safe and dignified human space where everyone has a place to call home.
To achieve proactive compassion we must clear our minds and focus on what truly matters.
We must be willing to take a leap of faith and embrace change to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Let us continue an inspiring hope.
By working together all humanity can create a world where homelessness is not a reality.
Why more criminalization is likely if the Supreme Court rules against the defendants
The more interactions a homeless person has with the police, the more likely they are to be criminalized. Today most cities have policies that entangle homelessness outreach with policing, whereby police influence local homelessness policy or embed directly within homeless outreach teams.
Even if police engage in homeless outreach primarily to connect individuals to services or shelter, such outreach can also then involve citing people for violating camping bans or other offenses. “Whenever the police are involved, the possibility of punitive enforcement is introduced,” wrote Willison and her colleagues. “The risks of punitive enforcement are further compounded if this individual is, say, experiencing a behavioral health crisis.”
Additional organizations which provide services for people experiencing homelessness in Tulsa include:
A Better Way
A Better Way provides an alternative to those experiencing homelessness who panhandle as a means for money. Through roving van outreach three days a week, the program employs six participants a day, asking them to help beautify Tulsa through an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Social service workers connect these individuals with life-changing services like housing, mental health and addiction treatment, and more sustainable employment opportunities. At the end of the day, they are paid cash ($9/hour).
Affordable Housing Strategy – A Way Home for Tulsa
The City’s new Housing Director Becky Gligo created the City’s first Affordable Housing Strategy to address issues Tulsans face. Homelessness is one of those areas, and Becky has taken on a leadership role in A Way Home For Tulsa, Tulsa’s continuum of care dedicated to making homelessness in Tulsa brief, rare and non-recurring.
Altamont Apartments
The Altamont Apartments are Mental Health Association Oklahoma’s way to provide affordable housing to those affected by homelessness, mental illnesses and disabilities. In May of 2019, the City of Tulsa helped fund the renovation of the apartments, including the installation of its first elevator.
Housing First (Mental Health Association Oklahoma)
A homeless assistance approach brought about by Mental Health Association Oklahoma, Housing First prioritizes providing permanent housing to those experiencing homelessness. After ending their homelessness, Mental Health Association Oklahoma connects the tenants with a variety of programs and partnerships to address their specific needs.
By empowering people and creating a more just and equitable employed society, we can secure a human space where everyone has the right to call the United States and the world their home.
<To Learn More About This Tragedy Homelessness read the story from PACE>
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Sources:
– “Tulsa’s Affordable Housing Strategy.” HousingWire, 24 Apr. 2022, http://www.housingwire.com/articles/49533-tulsas-affordable-housing-strategy.
– “Oklahoma lawmakers advance bill to allow immediate removal of squatters.” KFOR, 17 Apr. 2024, kfor.com/news/oklahoma-lawmakers-advance-bill-to-allow-immediate-removal-of-squatters/.
– “Oklahoma House passes bill allowing immediate removal of squatters.” KOCO 5 News, 18 Apr. 2024, http://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-house-passes-bill-allowing-immediate-removal-of-squatters/36301391.
– “In Oklahoma, More People Are Using Emergency Shelters.” Homelessness in America, 19 Nov. 2023, http://www.homelessnessinamerica.com/oklahoma-emergency-shelters-increase/.
– “Homelessness in Tulsa.” City of Tulsa, http://www.cityoftulsa.org/government/departments/community-development/homelessness-in-tulsa.aspx.
– “Organizations that provide services for people experiencing homelessness in Tulsa.” City of Tulsa, http://www.cityoftulsa.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=38826.
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