BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Homelessness is not limited to Tulsa. In Bartlesville, neighbors told city leaders it’s becoming more prevalent on their streets.
“We’re seeing illegal camping and littering and things of that nature.” City Manager Mike Bailey said, “So we’re seeing the results of it more than we are the actual statistical number of the unsheltered.”
Leaders say homelessness is most prevalent on the city’s west side. The west side is also where people find the most resources for those experiencing homelessness.
“It’s definitely increasing out there,” Joe Clark, assistant director at the Lighthouse, said, “We generally run pretty much at capacity. Which is about 75. Usually about 60-65 adults … and right now we have 11 kids.”
The Lighthouse is the only 24-hour shelter within 50 miles of Bartlesville. Justin Caples found himself there after a series of health scares.
- LEARN MORE >>> The Lighthouse served 412 people last year
“Hope is what drives us,” Caples said, “Just continue with hope. And the amazing things we’ll see throughout will be … amazing.”
It’s people like him that the task force is keeping in mind.
“This task force is intended to seek compassionate and fact-based solutions,” Bailey said.
As for some of those solutions, Caples says a helping hand goes a long way. He says staff at the Lighthouse helped him get things like a birth certificate and disability checks.
“It gave us time to actually work on ourselves instead of scrounging and trying to do stuff to survive out on the streets,” Caples said.
Details of the task force will be finalized during the Nov. 4 city council meeting. Caples offers some advice to councilors.
“Give them a chance, see what their needs are and if they’re willing to change,” Caples said.
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