OKC City Council Votes To Allow More Affordable Housing To Combat Homelessness

Oklahoma City officials are hoping to keep people off the streets by keeping rent more affordable.

It's helping to break the cycle of families deciding whether to pay rent or buy groceries each month.

“More than substance abuse, more than mental health. It drives the homeless numbers in Oklahoma City,” said Homeless Alliance Executive Director Dan Straughan about affordable housing.

CARES Act money allows from more emergency vouchers, but finding the actual space remains the challenge.

“Those with vouchers in hand can’t find units affordable to them,” Staughan said.

On Tuesday, the OKC City Council took action to allow for more affordable housing

It signed off on a plan for a nonprofit organization to improve the 54 units at Taylor Ridge Apartments on NW 36th Street.

Mental Health Association Oklahoma will spend $4.8 million, mostly in federal HUD grants, to purchase and improve the apartment complex.

“When you have a nonprofit developer who maintains the affordability of the apartments in good working order for the long run, they don't get priced out of the market and that prevents additional homelessness from happening,” said Greg Shinn with Mental Health Association Oklahoma.

Mental Health Association Oklahoma said it has spent $30 million in HUD grants on projects mostly in Tulsa.

Frontier Apartments on NW 23rd in Oklahoma City is another of their properties.

“What we are really trying to do to make sure people aren't paying more than 30% of their income toward their rent,” says Shinn.

Improvements to Taylor Ridge will be completed in early 2023 with maintenance construction beginning in May 2022.