TULSA, Okla. — Robbi Tabbert is getting ready for her wedding soon.
She's been clean for five years. She said the journey wasn't easy, but she's thankful to people like Casey Robinson, the owner of Robinson Properties.
Tabbert had some tough times while getting clean and couldn't find a place to rent until she met Robinson.
“The gratitude is immeasurable," she said. "It's hard to kind of explain it to people sometimes.”
She said having access to affordable, quality housing is very important to her and helped her get to where she is now.
“Being affordable is huge, especially in this economy," said Tabbert. "That allowed me to still pay my car payment and provide groceries and provide for my children, and so it was really, really beneficial for me.”
Now, Tabbert is getting ready to get married and upgrade to a home with her family.
She is grateful to people like Robinson who trusted in her and allowed her to reach her full potential.
“Staying focused and continuing to take one step after another," she said. "Recognizing where I came from and where I want to be.”
Casey Robinson specializes in completely renovating vacant buildings and turning them into updated, affordable housing for people seeking a second chance.
“It's really hard for someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps if no one will sell them a pair of boots," he said. “Addiction is something that's really affected our family, and we started hearing from people close to us that, you know, they got their life on track, but nobody would give them a chance. Nobody would rent to them.”
Currently, Robinson said he has 80 affordable workforce housing units.
"We don't want to take housing from the community," he said. "We want to add it to the community."
Most of his properties are in North Tulsa because he saw a need he wanted to help counteract: lower incomes.
According to the City of Tulsa’s 2024 Equality Indicators, only 40 percent of North Tulsans live in households earning a livable wage, compared with 71 percent of South Tulsans.
“It makes it all worth it when it's finished, and we hand somebody their keys, and they're just so grateful because they've been told no time and time again," said Robinson. "We believe that real change happens within a community with consistent, incremental changes."
Robinson is gearing up to open a six-unit building on Archer Street in a few weeks, and several other projects are coming that will increase affordable housing in north Tulsa.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- 2 News Oklahoma on your schedule | Download on your TV, watch for free. How to watch on your streaming device
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
