TULSA, Okla. — City leaders created a program to have multiple pre-approved styles of housing already approved to tackle the housing shortage.
2 News ran into Walt Lewis near the Tulsa Day Center. He told 2 News getting off the streets is an uphill battle.
"These streets are more treacherous than you want to believe because there is no housing," said Lewis.
He's been trying to recover from his mistakes - and find a home.
"I'm used to being a convict. I got 37 years of my life behind bars. I never had a job, to write a resume I can't," said Lewis.
Lewis said he knows too many people are one paycheck away from being homeless here in Tulsa. But now, the city's pushing to help people like Lewis get into homes much faster.
City leaders invited architects through a request for proposal – to design a set of pre-approved housing plans.
Mayor Bynum said getting property designs approved through City Hall has been a hurdle for developers. It's not just homes, duplexes and apartment complexes are included.
Tavis Hules is the Tulsa Housing policy director. 2 News asked him what problems there were before with the city and how the new program will fix them.
"This saves the time that it would take to hire an architect or engineer to develop those plans. If I'm a builder, I no longer have to do that, so it saves a lot of time. It would take like several months," said Hules.
The city received $250,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund the program so people like Lewis could have a place to stay.
"If it would be a program that would get some of these people, some of us, off the streets. That would be a blessing," said Lewis.
Hules said pre-approved plans won't be available until sometime in 2025.
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