I just read in the newspaper that the City is keeping B the Light Mission from opening its homeless shelter, yet you want to create a task force to study homelessness in Bartlesville. According to the article, Agape Mission and B the Light are the ones actually doing something about this problem and support a plan that already exists. Why is the City wasting taxpayer money to find a solution to a problem that others are already solving?
The answer to the first part of the question is the City isn’t keeping B the Light Mission from opening its shelter. B the Light is seeking to utilize a building that is subject to Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality regulations related to its past use. The City is prepared to issue its permit to B the Light as soon as ODEQ gives the green light.
Just so there’s no confusion on this, the ODEQ is a State of Oklahoma organization, not a City of Bartlesville function. In fact, the City of Bartlesville has assisted B the Light Mission at every turn during this project including assisting them in identifying grant funding to resolve their environmental roadblocks and helping to prepare their rezoning request.
The answer to the second part of the question is the unsheltered homeless population, defined as people who have no access to shelter, continues to grow, not just in Bartlesville but across most of the U.S. Clearly, whatever solutions are currently in place have so far not worked as well as the rest of the community — that is, Bartlesville residents not associated with the non-profits in question — would like. This was made abundantly clear by input from Bartlesville citizens obtained during the City’s strategic plan, Bartlesville NEXT, listening sessions.
To that end, the City included in its strategic plan an action item to participate in the reduction of the homeless population in Bartlesville. The objective, which has been stated publicly many times, is the City would commit to working with local non-profits to find acceptable solutions to the problem.
I won’t bore you with the details here, but several steps have been taken on the City’s end to help address some issues directly and indirectly related to the issue. They include:
- Partnering with Grand Mental Health to provide a mental health professional teamed with a police officer to respond to calls involving mental health issues and provide outreach to the homeless population.
- Adding bike patrols to the police department line-up to allow police officers access to hard-to-get-to park locations.
- Provide ongoing police presence on Pathfinder, City-owned trails known to be frequented by homeless individuals.
- Increased security measures in park restrooms and facilities during nighttime hours.
Outside City operations, there are several local non-profits that work directly with homeless individuals and families, providing food, shelter and other services.
These include the two agencies, Agape Mission and B the Light Mission, that expressed displeasure with the City in an article published Oct. 15 by the Examiner-Enterprise. City staff were quite surprised to read about these concerns, as the City’s goal all along has been to partner with these organizations.
And while these two agencies worry that this is just “more talk,” the City has an obligation to ensure that the solutions implemented are ones that actually work. That is the job of this task force, and while some might prefer that the City simply choose a plan — whether or not it has been vetted for appropriateness for our community — that is simply not a responsible way to steward citizen tax dollars.
All this said, there is one thing we all agree on: However much has been done to resolve the homeless issue in Bartlesville, none of it has been enough. The number continues to grow despite all our efforts.
Dissatisfied agencies aside, this lack of progress is the reason the City Council voted on Oct. 7 to direct City staff to develop a plan to create the task force in question, because, in the words of City Manager Mike Bailey, “The City owes it to our citizens to ensure we make the right choices, and that we are not merely guided by good intentions or passion.”
More information on this topic will be available in the coming weeks.
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Task force to study unsheltered homeless