The City Council on Monday heard an update on the work currently underway by the newly created Unsheltered Homeless Task Force created by the council earlier this year.
Task Force member Rachel Showler of Grand Mental Health told the council that task force members began by identifying the difference between an unsheltered person and a homeless person. The assignment of the task force is to focus on and reduce the number of local unsheltered individuals in Bartlesville.
“We have a large population of ‘homeless’ individuals, but homeless does not necessarily mean you are unsheltered,” Showler said. “‘Homeless’ means you don’t have a permanent residence or address, but you could be couch surfing or living with friends, living in a motel and so on. ‘Unsheltered’ means you are living in a tent, you are living in a car or (a makeshift, outdoor structure).”
Information compiled by Bartlesville Police Department Crisis Intervention Teams, which pair a BPD officer and Grand Mental Health worker, indicates there are approximately 58 unsheltered individuals residing within the city limits, though Showler says the number could exceed 100 if including unsheltered people just outside the city limits.
Despite rumors to the contrary, the vast majority of unsheltered people in Bartlesville are from Bartlesville, Showler said.
“For the most part, they are from the Bartlesville area,” Showler said. “Twenty-four percent of unsheltered individuals are not from the Bartlesville area, but they are from nearby — Oklahoma City, Kansas, Copan, Dewey, Enid, a couple from Osage County, Nowata, and Vinita.”
Statistics indicate 45 of the 58 are male, while 13 are female. Six percent have lived in Bartlesville 20 years or more, 24 percent have lived in Bartlesville 10-20 years, 27 percent for three to 10 years, and three percent have lived in Bartlesville less than a year.
“There is this regular story that goes around every time it gets cold that somebody is bussing people in to live here,” said Ward 4 Councilor Aaron Kirkpatrick, who also serves on the committee. “Fifty-one percent of the people who are currently living unsheltered in Bartlesville have been here between three and 20 years, and another 40 percent have lived in Bartlesville from one to three years.
“So 91 percent of the people who are currently living outside … have lived here at least a year, and most of them for three or more. Those are Bartians. They’re not outsiders. That was kind of an a-ha moment for us, to realize we’re not talking about a bunch of people who are just getting shipped here.”
Showler said local non-profits serving the unsheltered population, which include those in the city limits and those just outside it, show that nearly 65,000 free meals were served by Agape Mission in 2024, while nearly 6,000 have been served so far this year. B the Light Mission has provided temporary shelter for 111 individuals this year alone.
Showler said the task force is discussing potential ordinances relating to the issue and reviewing case studies from other towns that have experienced similar problems.
“We’ve looked at ordinances from Austin, Texas, and Grants Pass, Ore., specifically,” she said.
She said the task force will continue to gather and review data and discuss potential future action for the council to consider at a future date. The task force is expected to update the council every other month.
The task force meets the second and fourth Fridays of the month. All meetings are held at City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave., and are open to the public.
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