Claremore Man's Homeless Past Driving Force To Help Others

A Claremore man is on a mission to take care of those who are often forgotten. His plan is to build a homeless shelter because, right now, the city doesn't have one.

The old, historic Franklin Hospital has been vacant for decades, and Timothy Stonebarger said it's a dream of his to open a homeless shelter, which he'll call the Claremore Care More House.

"Well, I haven't had the easiest life, but over the last two years I've been homeless, and in that time I've been addicted to many drugs," Stonebarger said about himself.

Now he's 90 days sober, and he's reminded of his checkered past every day.

Drug addiction and other crimes landed him in prison for six years; after that, he had nowhere to go.

Stonebarger said, "The pain I suffered through, I don't want anybody else to suffer through. So I'm just hoping their experience is going to be better than mine was."

His friend, Jonathan Vest, remembers trying to get him help at the time, but there was no place in Claremore that could take him long-term.

"When he was going through everything, I was trying to find a place for him to go, and a place to stay, and I made phone calls for days and days and days," Vest said.

That's why Stonebarger is trying to get the ball rolling on his proposal to build The Claremore Care More House. He's looking into a number of vacant properties around Claremore but still needs a lot of support, and funds, to move forward.

Right now, the nearest homeless shelters are in Tulsa - 30 miles away.

Stonebarger said, "I don't want to see it anymore. I'm tired of seeing it. And so I decided, you know, this is a good idea. Step up."

He said he's here today because people cared about him when he needed it, and he wants to give back.

"I want them to see there's people out here that care," Stonebarger said.

You can learn more about The Claremore Care More House proposal here.