The Salvation Army of Cleveland County

PROJECT PURPOSE

The Salvation Army of Cleveland County operates the only emergency overnight shelter in the county. It is critical to have our current shelter operation expanded to allow for more homeless persons a safe place to stay while working towards sustainability. We are looking at increasing occupancy from 35 beds to 70 beds and move kitchen and dining to new facility to be established on our campus. This will allow for more individuals who need a safe place and meal to be served without discrimination. We estimate serving well over 27,000 homeless individuals in our county over the life of this facility. These shelter guests are provided breakfast and lunch and in the evening to shelter guests and the community at large can join us for the evening meal free of charge.

EVIDENCE

According to Norman/Cleveland County Continuum of Care?s Bridging the Gap: Action Steps to End Homelessness report from February 2022, ?Housing-focused crisis shelters (often known as ?emergency shelters?) are an important part of a community?s response to homelessness. While they help people stay safe from the dangers of living outside, they are also a valuable link to permanent housing, especially for people who have been homeless for an extended period of time and might be reluctant to engage in services.? Norman-Cleveland County Action Plan 2022.pdf (normanok.gov) We aim to be a part of the solution to end homelessness in Cleveland County.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Homelessness impacts everyone in the community. According to Norman/Cleveland County Continuum of Care?s Bridging the Gap: Action Steps to End Homelessness, ?Despite effective programs and dedicated providers, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Cleveland County continues to be an issue. Nearly one third of all residents experience a cost burden or severe cost burden for housing. When such a large proportion of income is spent on housing, any unexpected expense can lead to homelessness. During the last full January point-in-time count in 2020, volunteers identified 266 men, women and children experiencing homelessness in Cleveland County, with 146 (55%) of those people living unsheltered on the streets, in vehicles, or in encampments.? Our emergency shelter team was equipped to tackle the pandemic as our homeless population still needed a safe place to stay. Through quarantine and testing, all who stayed at our shelter still received the necessary services required such as food and shelter all while maintaining social distancing and masking according to local and federal guidelines. It is important that we do all we can to support our most vulnerable populations here in Cleveland County as we are the only emergency overnight shelter in our county.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Our team will be monitoring project performance throughout the building phase as we work with local municipality and builder/architect. Shelter guest programmatic data will be provided through HMIS (homelessness management information system). There will also be feedback from clients through surveys and case management that may be provided for content.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma