Building Tulsa, Building Lives is a collaborative effort that includes, the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, Tulsa Housing Authority, Youth Services of Tulsa, the Zarrow Families and many other private funders.

Building Tulsa, Building Lives website:

http://www.buildingtulsabuildinglives.com/

How Building Tulsa, Building Lives works:

• Building Tulsa, Building Lives represents a collaboration and cooperation of government, private and public services, foundations, faith-based organizations and neighborhoods. Its goal is to provide a debt-free unified approach to property ownership, management and service delivery.
• Building Tulsa, Building Lives seeks to increase access to affordable housing and to help bring an end to chronic homelessness in Tulsa within three years.
• The Building Tulsa, Building Lives effort will utilize new and rehabilitated housing as well as scattered, mixed-income apartment models that meet basic housing needs that provides a safe, affordable and decent place for people to live. By creating a supportive living environment within the multi-unit housing model, a community is created and helps individuals and families who have experienced homelessness become reintegrated into the fabric of the community.
• The care and maintenance of the properties creates employment opportunities for people who have histories of homelessness and substance use.
• The housing development created by Building Tulsa, Building Lives has encouraged homeless service providers to work together more efficiently and more effectively in community efforts to end chronic homelessness.
• Building Tulsa, Building Lives has created an outreach to Tulsa area faith communities, encouraging them to become more engaged with people with histories of homelessness, mental illness, and substance use.

Progress:

• 315 housing units have been purchased or built since the Building Tulsa Building Lives campaign began in 2008.
• By HUD’s definition, the chronically homeless count in 2005 in Tulsa was 178, more recently in 2010, the chronically homeless count was 71.