TULSA, Okla. — Another village to help the homeless is growing from the ground up in North Tulsa.
The City Lights Village is a project years in the making. The walls are going up, the houses are painted, and the community center is ready to open homes to 75 Tulsans by late summer.
WATCH: City Lights Village to open by late summer, to house 75 homeless Tulsans
The colorful homes represent hope and growth for the 75 neighbors who will move in this August.
"For us, it’s not just about a roof and four walls, it’s about community," City Lights Executive Director Sarah Grounds said. "It's home for life."
The grounds showcased the 12,000-square-foot community center, which she calls the heart of the village. The space is designed for togetherness and resources to give Tulsans experiencing homelessness a real shot at a second chance.
Inside, a storm shelter, a full kitchen, dining, and gathering spaces will come to life.
In September, 2 News Oklahoma's Brodie Myers talked to Tiffany Corliss about what would best help her and other unsheltered folks.
"If you want us off the street, help us more," Corliss said. "Push us to get off the streets, not make us struggle and miserable and pack up and go."
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$7 MILLION: City Lights looking to finish Village project
The new community center is meant to do just that.
"Through our huddle rooms for partner agencies to come sit with our neighbors and work with them on whatever needs to be worked on, but also just bringing people together in a place where they can laugh and play and cry if they need to," Grounds said.
There are a few more homes left to complete, but Grounds said the generosity from Tulsa has been overwhelming as the clock ticks.
"We know right now there’s about 1,200 people on a waitlist for permanent supportive housing in Tulsa," she said. "That is a huge need, and we know people are living and dying on that waitlist, so we just really want to be intentional about bringing people home, helping them settle, helping them stay in that housing so that we’re not just returning to homelessness and repeating that cycle."
City Lights still needs to raise about $3.8 million to ensure the village not only comes to life but also remains sustainable in the years to come. Those interested in supporting their mission can donate through the City Lights website.
Grounds expects everything to be complete by late summer and ready for 75 residents to move in.
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