For the last few months of winter, people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Oklahoma City will be able to stay in a new overnight shelter.
The emergency winter shelter opened Friday at the former Willard School, 1400 NW 3 St., west of downtown.
The shelter has 109 cots available to men, women and families every night through March 31, said Dan Straughan, director of the Homeless Alliance. Bed capacity can be expanded if needed.
“It’s literally lifesaving,” Straughan said. “It’s been a rough winter so far, and we’ve got two and a half months left to endure. Having this open, we’ll never know exactly how many lives it saves, but I guarantee you, it will.
Oklahoma County officials are applying to receive some of the $25 billion in rental assistance recently set aside by the federal government to mitigate evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jered Davidson, general counsel to the Oklahoma County Home Finance Authority, said it’s unclear how much money the county would receive, but funds would be distributed through a program similar to what the Community CARES Partners group did last year with $1.5 million in federal funding.
“I wish I could tell you how much money that we were going to be allocated,” Davidson told county commissioners during a meeting Monday. “But we would expect those dollars to be available and disseminated by the end of the month, if not quicker.
As COVID-19 vaccine distribution ramped up this week, Oklahomans over 65 who received their first doses were hoping to do their part to end the pandemic and reconnect with loved ones.
Across the state, areas are moving into Phase 2 of Oklahoma’s vaccine distribution plan. A larger group of health care workers, emergency responders and those over 65 are now eligible to get their first doses.
For Norman resident Linda Dzialo, the vaccine will bring her experience with the virus full-circle.
“I lost my husband to COVID,” she said. “And I was hospitalized with COVID and almost died. So this is very meaningful to me. I’ve been living for this day.