The City Council took action Monday to develop a plan for a task force to recommend solutions to address the rise in Bartlesville’s unsheltered homeless population and associated issues.
Homelessness was identified as a priority in the City’s organizational strategic plan, Bartlesville NEXT. The City has since implemented several programs intended to address the issue, including staffing mental health professionals to assist with police calls involving the homeless and enhanced police presence at local parks.
The task force approved Monday by the council will study the rise in Bartlesville’s unsheltered homeless population and associated issues as well as recommend solutions to address these issues, according to City Manager Mike Bailey.
“Over the past five years, there has been a noticeable rise in the unsheltered homeless population in Bartlesville. This increase has led to associated issues including increased vandalism, littering, illegal camping, and public concerns about safety in our public spaces. All of these issues have also led to increased costs for security and maintenance of our public spaces while also causing a decreasing utilization of our public spaces by the general public,” Bailey said.
“We are equipped to address many of the tangible issues related to our unsheltered homeless population, but we lack expertise and resources to address many of the fundamental issues that underly the recent increase in this population. Council approval of the resolution on Monday will allow us to create a cross-disciplinary task force comprised of diverse individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences, and training.”
Bailey said the task force will be tasked with studying community-oriented solutions to the issue.
“This problem is too multifaceted for the City to effectively manage without the assistance of our many nonprofits and agencies,” he said. “The City cannot be the solution to this issue, but we can be a contributor to a larger collaboration of organizations.”
Bailey said the primary goal of the task force is to recommend actions aimed at reducing the unsheltered homeless population, while secondary goals will be to reduce vandalism, littering and other illegal acts associated with the unsheltered homeless population as well as increasing confidence in public safety and the utilization of public spaces, and improving conditions for unsheltered individuals.
More information about the task force will be announced as soon it becomes available.