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ABOUT US

Homelessness is complicated. It's an issue no single organization can solve on its own. It requires the entire community working together to address it effectively. We believe that together, we can end homelessness in OKC. 

OUR VISION

We seek to end long-term homelessness in OKC by building the capacity of the community through collaboration with other agencies, identifying and filling gaps in homeless services, bringing nationally-recognized best practices to the community, and working to build a system that is more efficient, rational, and caring.

OUR MISSION

The Homeless Alliance's mission is to rally our community to end homelessness. 

WE VALUE

Collaboration
Community
Innovation and creativity
Research and strategy

Nimbleness
People and their right to housing
Compassion regardless of circumstance
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

OUR HISTORY

The Homeless Alliance began as a group of community volunteers concerned about the fractured system of care for people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City. These volunteers visited other communities that had successfully implemented coordinated systems and studied their strategies. After launching with just one employee in a borrowed office in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of OKC, one of the first initiatives of the Homeless Alliance was to begin convening the directors of the community's overnight shelters. From there, the Homeless Alliance conducted a community needs assessment to identify gaps in services and began work to fill those gaps. The organization then developed a software system to track data across the community in order to more strategically address the issue of homelessness. 

TODAY

Today, the Homeless Alliance operates a multi-agency homeless resource campus with access to multiple nonprofit and government agencies providing services including health clinics, veterans services, budgeting and legal assistance. The campus also includes Oklahoma City's only low-barrier Day Shelter which serves breakfast and lunch, offers showers, mail service, lockers, phones, computers, a pet kennel and access to classes and other service providers. The Homeless Alliance also has a street outreach team which goes out into the community to find people and connect them with services and operates three low-barrier employment programs including the Curbside Chronicle, Curbside Flowers, Sasquatch Shaved Ice, and Curbside Apparel.

 

Most importantly, the ultimate goal of the Homeless Alliance is to move people off the streets and into the safety and security of a home, so the organization operates multiple housing programs for people experiencing homelessness including families with children, veterans, victims of domestic violence, people exiting the justice system, people who are HIV positive, and people who are chronically homeless.  

The Homeless Alliance is a proud partner of the United Way of Central Oklahoma. 

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By the Numbers

In 2022, the Homeless Alliance: 

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835 People Housed

The Homeless Alliance helped house 858 people including families with children, veterans, and single adults through our programs and collaborative initiatives. 

Rolled Towels

16,261 Showers

Our Day Shelter offers the only free, publicly available showers installed in Oklahoma City.

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75,484 Meals Served

The Homeless Alliance serves breakfast and lunch to guests at our Day Shelter Monday through Friday.

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262 Daily Guests

The Day Shelter served an average of 257 guests each day in 2021. Guests have access to meals, showers, mail, phones, computers, barbers, legal aid, classes, service referrals, and more.  

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11,555 Unique Guests

There were 8,226 unduplicated people who visited the Day Shelter in 2021.

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15,105 People Served

We opened a temporary low-barrier winter night shelter to help fill a gap in shelter beds on nights when temps dropped below freezing.

(winter '21-'22).

Homeless Alliance Leadership Team

Dan Straughan, executive director

Meghan Mueller, associate executive director

Alexandra Dueñez Burns, director of HR

 

Briawna Nash, director of housing and leasing

 

Carrie Sauer, director of development

Taylor Self, director of communications

Ranya Forgotson, director of social enterprise

Robert Stonebraker, special projects

Sheri Richard, director of finance

Tara Ryan, director of support services

Vincent Gonzalez, Day Shelter director

Whitley O'Connor, social enterprise strategist

Board Officers

Julie Porter Scott, board chair

Suzy Lytle, vice chair

Jordan Sowers, board treasurer

Board of Directors

Brittani Hunter, Spiked Coffee

Christian Guzzy, Hartzog Conger Cason Neville

 

Frank Turner, Diversion Hub

Jennifer Lyles, RSM US LLP

 

Jordan Sowers, Shamrock Bank

Julie Porter Scott, Yelp

 

Mark Gillet, Oklahoma City Housing Authority

Pooja Singhal, SSM Health

 

Sarah Bytyqi, Verbode

Stephen Kovash, retired EPA

 

Steve Raybourn, Raydon Exploration

 

Suzy Lytle, Sandy Beaches Software

 

Theresa Seitz, OGE

​Trisha Koelsch, OGE

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