BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — A plan to bring crisis homes to Broken Arrow for individuals with developmental disabilities was scrapped in July.
The contracts for the four homes purchased by Benchmark Human Services were terminated, effective Aug. 22. Although many residents had applied and were ready to move in, they never got the chance to.
“I am absolutely broken hearted that it didn’t happen," said Staci McGarrah. "They were so excited. Their families were so excited, their friends, and I can’t imagine, I didn’t get to talk to them after, but I can’t imagine the despair and the hopelessness."
McGarrah, formerly employed by Benchmark, explained these homes were intended to be a safe place for adults with developmental disabilities to be stabilized before moving on to a long term housing situation.
She gave the example of a man who had been approved to be in the program, who was in his 30's with the mental state of a minor and homeless because his parents passed away.
McGarrah said oftentimes these individuals end up on the streets or in prison because they don't know how to act, and Oklahoma doesn't have the resources to provide the specialized care and support they require.
So these crisis homes would have been the perfect spot to catch them before they slipped through the gap, she said.
“When they’re in crisis, it’s 'hey, they have lost all of their family,'" said McGarrah. "With one of them he only had his mom, his father had already passed so he only had his mother. Well she couldn’t take care of him anymore, it was just too much for her."
She was eager to start working at one of the homes in Broken Arrow. The plan was for five employees to work at the homes around the clock with four residents in the home.
But before they could support these vulnerable adults, the entire operation got shut down.
Neighbors reached out to 2 News in April to share concerns about these homes making their neighborhood unsafe.
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Those residents went to state legislators in opposition of the homes, which led to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services terminating the contracts for all four homes.
"I believe based off of one person being upset, we could have absolutely worked something out," she said. "Whether that be moving the homes, selling this one and buying another one, something like that, but they totally cut the entire funding for all the homes that Benchmark had bought and so we have no option.”
All four homes are no longer opening, or offering the resource to the families in need.
“Where do they go, like what do I tell them?" said McGarrah. "I cannot imagine hearing how excited over the phone some of these people were and their families, crying and thanking Benchmark and everything and then all of a sudden for it to be cut without any explanation to the consumers or the families or anything."
While nearby neighbors were worried about the remote location being a challenge to properly serve these individuals, McGarrah insisted she and her colleagues would have been able to support them and meet every need they had.
“When we find them somewhere where they can be hopefully forever, live great, we would still come out if they still needed rides or anything like that, weren’t just going to leave these people, so imagine them hearing that for the first time some of them for the first time in their entire lives, to feel like somebody cares."
DHS ultimately made the decision to terminate the contracts of the homes. 2 News reached out to the agency to learn more about their decision to not move forward with the program, but didn't get a reply.
McGarrah wishes they had thought more about the people who need the service, or came up with an alternative, rather than closing them down completely.
“If this was your child or one of your family members, your brother, your sister, whoever, would you really have cut funding for these people who truly need it? They’re in crisis, and they cannot take care of themselves. It’s not right, they deserve everything that we can do on our own, they deserve to get that help, to be able to live a normal life. They really do."
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