The study behind Norman’s forthcoming Homelessness Strategic Plan is on track to wrap up in late October, the city announced this week.
A request from the city for professional analysis of its homelessness resource offerings was sent out last September; the city chose to contract with Homebase, which completed a plan of similar scope and magnitude in Tulsa in 2019. The council agreed in January to allocate $100,000 toward Homebase’s study and an ensuing strategic plan.
The plan is the latest effort the city has taken to address homelessness following the failed General Obligation Norman 2020 bond package.
According to Michelle Evans, Norman’s homeless program coordinator, the study is currently in the data analysis phase. She said Homebase is in the process of evaluating more than 400 lived-experience surveys and seven years worth of data reported by her office to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“A strategic plan like this takes an enormous amount of time,” Evans said. “It involves a large amount of information, more in some areas than was first anticipated. But they’re in the process of analyzing the data, and this group is incredibly thorough.”
The process involved collecting the surveys through multiple agencies under the city’s Continuum of Care, including four focus groups by Food and Shelter, one focus group by Thunderbird Clubhouse and one focus group by the Salvation Army.
The next part of the study involves a community focus group, where Evans said members of the community will have the opportunity to share their perspectives on homelessness and what direction the city should take.
Evans said she is in the process of scheduling a date for that group, but added that this would be the second time the public has had a chance to weigh in on the issue after a community survey was issued in March.
Once the process ends, Evans said Homebase will present her with the final strategic plan near the end of October. She will take the plan before the Norman City Council to discuss the results and implications.
Evans said the study’s conclusions will help the city determine if Norman will require something along the lines of a combined day and overnight shelter or another resource that would better address the needs of the community.
To help contribute to an interim solution until more dedicated resources can be allocated, the city has been utilizing $147,000 worth of Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act funds to maintain an overnight shelter since last fall.
While Evans said she is hopeful the study will provide the city with the recommendations and data it needs to move forward on the issue, in the interim, her department will continue to do what it can while also engaging the community, she said.
“Our plan is to continue to engage, inform and educate,” Evans said. “Engage with community partners and the homeless population, inform to make sure the homeless know their resources and what it is we can and can’t do and educate.”
