TULSA, Okla. — Two more homeless encampments in Tulsa are closed and 30 more people are in housing.
It's part of Safe Move Tulsa, a targeted focus on encampments with goal to house 300 people in nine months, since the program started 55 people are now in housing.
“You guys have been out here a little bit, not very comfortable is it? I don’t think anybody should be sleeping out here," said Mayor Monroe Nichols.
This is the third encampment closed in just the first six weeks of the rehousing initiative.
Over the years, anywhere from 100 people called the wooded area behind Lowe's off 71st and 169 home. More recently, as city partners worked the area, only about five people were frequently sleeping there.
“You have different items that they’ve acquired, blankets, mattresses, things that somebody would need to try to survive outdoors," said Housing Solutions CEO Mark Smith. "I think the success is being able to address an encampment in a holistic manner with a coordinated partnership and that just didn’t happen before.”
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SAFE MOVE TULSA: New initiative helps 25 homeless into housing
Three of the folks at the Lowe's camp took housing, with three declining services.
The other camp closed was located at E 4th Pl. and 129th E. Ave., where 30 people were living. Only three folks there declined the offered help, and left the area.
WATCH: SAFE MOVE TULSA: Two more encampments closed, 30 people housed
The ability to rapidly get people into a safer environment, though, is thanks to the investment from the city. Mayor Nichols echoed that sentiment that it truly takes a village.
“When you do work together, you can take a difficult situation like this one, you can get people housed and supported, so we don’t have to displace people in the way of progress," he said. "We can get people supported and we can have progress at the same time.”
"What was once thought impossible is being made possible because an entire city is rallying around one goal: to end homelessness in Tulsa," Mayor Nichols said. "I can't speak highly enough of the historic work that's happening right now in our community - all because this generation of leaders in both the public and private sectors put their heads together to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons. This plan is working, it's coming together, and it will take time and continued investment if we want to continue to see this kind of progress and these kinds of resolutions."
WATCH: The first camp closed through Safe Move Tulsa in November
The first encampment the city worked on through Safe Move Tulsa was near 71st and Riverside. It closed earlier this year, with 25 people placed into housing.
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