Oklahoma City Council approved a one-year contract today with Mental Health Association Oklahoma (MHAOK) to support a pilot Homeless Street Outreach Program.
“This program advances the winnable fight to end homelessness,” said Terri White, CEO of the Mental Health Association Oklahoma. “MHAOK is grateful to the City of OKC for expanding our ability to connect with individuals experiencing homelessness and offer a life-changing path from the streets to housing, mental health and medical care, employment and self-sustainability. Working closely with the OKC Police and Fire Departments, we are excited to offer an alternative to police response as well as jail diversion. There is no doubt this program can serve as a model for cities across the country to emulate.”
MHAOK will dedicate two street outreach and crisis response teams to the program. Each team is made up of a licensed clinician and two case managers, who will help connect those experiencing homelessness to community resources for housing, mental and physical health, recovery programs, employment assistance and other wrap-around services.
The teams will also coordinate with the City’s Public Safety Departments to provide a non-police response to calls for assistance when requested, in a co-responder model or on their own.
This type of collaborative partnership results in improved quality of care and outcomes for people needing assistance, as well as more efficient and effective uses of emergency services
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