Rallying Our Community to End Homelessness.
The Homeless Alliance works to end long-term homelessness in Oklahoma City 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.
The Homeless Alliance operates several housing programs for families with children, coordinates a community effort to house veterans and people who are chronically homeless, operates the IT infrastructure used by homeless-serving agencies in central Oklahoma, and publishes The Curbside Chronicle, a magazine that provides a voice and legitimate source of income for people who are homeless.
The Homeless Alliance owns and operates the Westtown Homeless Resource Campus which includes a Resource Center with offices for multiple nonprofit and government agencies, a housing complex, and a Day Shelter that serves an average of 350 people each day. The Day Shelter serves breakfast and lunch, provides showers, offers access to computers, phone, and mail, and provides access to needed services including mental and physical healthcare, budgeting assistance, legal support, and multiple classes and programs. For those people who can’t go to an overnight shelter because they have a companion animal from which they will not be parted, the Day Shelter removes that barrier by offering a kennel, complete with pet food and access to veterinary services, so that people with pets aren’t shut out of the system of care.
If you are homeless or at risk for becoming homeless and need assistance visit Heartline 2-1-1 where you will gain access to the organizations in your area that provide free and low-cost services such as financial assistance, food, clothing, housing, counseling, health care and more. For additional assistance, you can dial 2-1-1 to speak to a service specialist.
If you are at risk of losing your home due to COVID-19, please start by visiting https://okcommunitycares.org/apply/.
***COVID-19 Updates***
We’ve had a lot of questions about how we are handling COVID-19. While everyone is at risk of contracting this virus, people experiencing homelessness are faced with unique challenges. Without a home, people are unable to properly hunker down and do not have access to running water. People also must visit congregate environments, for food and hygiene, so social distancing isn’t an easy option. Additionally, many people we serve struggle with chronic health conditions.
While the situation continues to evolve, we have completely changed our operations focusing street outreach to deliver supplies and food to people who are camping; revamping the way our Day Shelter works so that we do not have 350+ people in the building at a time in order to limit the spread of the virus while continuing to provide meals, showers and mail; and adding homeless prevention services to assist people at-risk of losing their homes due to COVID-19. We have new and evolving needs, but are making efforts to limit the spread of the virus while continuing to serve people in our community who are among the most vulnerable.
It is a challenging time for everyone. We are facing many struggles right now as we work to keep our clients safe from the virus while continuing to meet their basic needs.
We could use your help.
- We need donations, but we also want to limit the number of people coming on our campus. Monetary donations are most needed and may be made online. http://bit.ly/donateHA
- We have updated our Amazon list to include some of our current needs. If you find them on another website, you can ship to: The Homeless Alliance 1724 N.W. 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, 73106. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2L8SV1OPCSD15/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1?_encoding=UTF8&type=wishlist
- Things we need most right now include: Hats, gloves, coats (especially men’s size large and up), blankets, hand warmers, and bottled water. We also need Soap, Deodorant, Shampoo, Conditioner, Lotion, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Hygiene wipes, Combs, Adult-size underwear. Travel-sizes are great, full-sizes good too. To limit the volume of people on our campus at any given time, we are asking donors to come during non-peak hours if possible which are currently Tuesday and Thursdays between 9 & 11 a.m. or 1 & 3 p.m.
- Due to our limited capacity, we are currently unable to accept used household items or clothing.
We will continue to work to navigate this situation in order to provide for and protect our clients the best we can.
