The five bunk beds, each with a white pillow and tightly fitted sheets, sit empty in the basement of the Church of the Open Arms in northwest Oklahoma City.
Nearby shelves hold donated clothing, cleaning products and young-adult novels.
All are waiting to be used by homeless teenagers. But for months, the beds and items have been sitting untouched by the young.
That is dismaying to Penny Reynolds, who heads a nonprofit youth-advocacy group, Sisu Youth, that set up the overnight shelter at the church. Reynolds’ group is short of funding to be able to open the facility, which she says is sorely needed for a growing problem in Oklahoma City and statewide.
But she also knows that just opening the shelter – intended as the first standalone one serving only youths ages 15 to 17 – won’t be enough. Any provider reaching out to homeless teens, especially LGBT youths, faces a challenge in overcoming their distrust and fears, Reynolds said. She is confident that with paid staff or volunteers, she can attract them off the streets and offer help.
Three miles to the south, at the downtown City Rescue Mission, empty beds for homeless youths also can be found. The faith-based nonprofit’s new wing for up to 150 youths is open but remains unused for the most part because the mission has had trouble finding and attracting them.
The latest figures from the state Department of Education show that over four years, the number of homeless students in Oklahoma has soared by 55 percent over four years, to 27,161 in 2014-2015.
Of that total, about 1,640 were reported as living in unsheltered locations, such as cars, parks, campgrounds, abandoned buildings and temporary trailers. More than 21,900 were “doubling up,” meaning they were runaway or unaccompanied youths living with relatives or friends.
“We absolutely do have a huge homeless youth problem in Oklahoma,” said state Sen. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, who authored legislation last year to study the problem. “And it’s not just an urban problem, it’s also a rural problem. People are shocked when they see just how many children are homeless.”
Despite rising concerns, social-service group representatives say that identifying homeless youths and providing effective support remain a challenge.
Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that produces in-depth and investigative journalism on a range of public-policy issues facing the state. For more Oklahoma Watch content, go to www.oklahomawatch.org.
