Connect with us

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City volunteers conduct day-long homeless count for annual survey

Published

on

Oklahoma City volunteers conduct day-long homeless count for annual survey


At 3 a.m., I joined a group of more than 100 volunteers at the Homeless Alliance for one final round of instructions. Then, groups gathered drawstring bags full of supplies and started splitting up to canvas as much of Oklahoma City’s 600 square miles as possible.

The city was still dark, illuminated only by streetlights, city signs and the glow of our flashlights.

May Anchondo, the leader of my seven-person volunteer team and Director of Support Services at the Homeless Alliance, guided us through our assigned locations in southeast Oklahoma City.

“We have different sites that the community identifies, and so we’re walking towards a campsite so that we can see if anyone who might be experiencing homelessness is willing to take a survey with us,” Anchondo said.

Advertisement

She and the other members of my group were bundled up in multiple jackets, attempting to ward off below-freezing temperatures.

Throughout the morning, we approached various shelters and encampments, talking to whoever was willing. We surveyed about a dozen individuals, gathering demographic data and asking questions about their experiences.

Volunteers approach a shelter in southeast OKC during the 2025 Point In Time Count.

People shared stories of domestic abuse, mental health struggles, job loss after the pandemic and even “not wanting to be a burden” as reasons that led to their homelessness.

The results from the surveys are added to data from local homeless shelters and transitional housing programs to provide a “snapshot” of what homelessness looks like on a given night in Oklahoma City.

Advertisement

To receive homeless assistance grants, the results have to be reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development every two years. Oklahoma City has been conducting the count annually since 2003.

But the count is about more than just numbers — it’s also a pathway for outreach. We handed out supplies like toothbrushes, hand warmers, gloves, snacks and bus passes to everyone we met.

Volunteers also asked people they encountered whether they needed information about nearby shelters or support services.

“The Point in Time count is really a look at the human aspect of homelessness,” said Erika Warren, who helped organize this year’s effort. “It’s about understanding what our neighbors are experiencing and how we can show up for them.”

Warren works with the city-led Key to Home initiative. Made up of more than 50 organizations, Key To Home is Oklahoma City’s way of streamlining and connecting various efforts to end homelessness.

Advertisement

Volunteers gathered at the Homeless Alliance the day before the count to get survey instructions.

Volunteers gathered at the Homeless Alliance the day before the count to get survey instructions.

Last year, the Point In Time count reported a total of 1,838 people, an increase from the previous year’s 1,436.

According to Warren, this year’s count is expected to be higher, reflecting the ongoing challenges posed by a lack of affordable housing. She said a significant drop won’t be seen until the city’s housing stock increases.

In the meantime, there are still a lot of people who resort to living outside.

Anchondo from the Homeless Alliance says the count helps her imagine what that must be like.

Advertisement

“It also just really brings perspective on why we do what we do, right? Cause it’s cold out there … Even though I work with folks who are experiencing homelessness, and families, and youth, doing Point In Time is a really good opportunity to also just really solidify why the work that we do is really needed in our community.”

During the count, my group came across three people in their early twenties. Last year, 19 of the people counted living outside were between the ages of 18 and 24.

It’s impossible to say whether my group’s numbers translate into any broader trends, but they will contribute to the broader picture of what homelessness looks like in Oklahoma City.

Homelessness is complex, Anchondo says, and solutions the city pursues must serve the people going through it.

This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.

Advertisement





Source link

Oklahoma

Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma

Published

on

Capture of Nicolas Maduro: What it could mean for Oklahoma


Elite Delta Force captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife about 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

It happened in the Caracas, the capitol of Venezuela.

Social media posts how strikes ordered by President Trump into Venezuela and its military bases.

News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell said the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America has not always been smooth and adds so many dominos will fall as a result.

Advertisement

“Venezuela is the beachhead for our adversaries that’s Cuba and Russia and China and Iran and it looks as if this latest situation where that they were assembling Iran swift attack boats that was sort of the last straw,” said Mitchell.

Retired war correspondent Mike Boettcher said the planning on capturing Maduro began in mid-December.

He adds Venezuela is a massive oil supplier whose oil has been taken off the market for years because of sanctions.

He has concerns about what comes next.

“That disrupts a lot of things.It even has an effect on the war in Ukraine, as Russia, you know, has used higher oil revenue because Venezuela’s oil was off the market.Oil prices went up.It helps fund the war in Ukraine,” said Boettcher.

Advertisement

The ramifications could even reach Oklahoma.

“China gets a 30 percent discount on the oil.If Venezuela goes for a more legitimate government and the sanctions are lifting, then they’re flooding the oil markets and that means bad news for the Oklahoma economy,” added Mitchell.

Following the capture of Maduro, President Trump said the U.S. will take control of the oil reserves in Venezuela.

Sources also say there are plans from the current administration to recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars in their oil industry.

A verified video shows the current state of Venezuela after the military operation.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal

Published

on

Oklahoma State expected to lose talented EDGE to transfer portal


Oklahoma State EDGE Kyran Duhon plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Duhon was a member of the 2024 recruiting class.

Duhon spent one year at Oklahoma State, logged 16 total tackles (eight solo) across nine games. He began his career at UTEP, where he had a productive true freshman season, Duhon finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, including seven sacks and two PBUs.

At UTEP, his one season there resulted in second team All-Conference USA honors. He was also named to the On3 True Freshman All-America Team as well as the the Conference USA All-Freshman team.

However, Duhon’s stay in Stillwater didn’t go as expected. Oklahoma State finished the season with a 1-11 record, which included the Cowboys firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy after a 1-2 start. Doug Meacham was named interim head coach but ended the year 0-9.

Advertisement

Eric Morris has since been named as the program’s next head coach. He comes from North Texas, which finished with an 11-2 record and a trip to the American Conference championship game this past season. However, it doesn’t appear that Duhon will be sticking around during the changing of the guard at Oklahoma State this offseason.

Before college, Duhon was the No. 1,706 overall player in the class, and was recruited as the the No. 165 linebacker during the cycle, per the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was ranked as the No. 242 overall player out of Texas.

Once the NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, players can officially enter their names in the NCAA transfer portal and go on to initiate contact with their preferred schools. The portal will be open for 15 days and close on Jan. 16.

Notably, players who are on teams competing in the national championship game are allowed five extra days to make their portal decision. The College Football Playoff championship game will be played on Jan. 19, so the players on those teams will be allowed until Jan. 24 to enter the portal and choose their next school.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor

Published

on

Oklahoma man doing target practice in back yard charged in fatal shooting of neighbor


A man in Oklahoma is facing a manslaughter charge after he allegedly shot a woman several blocks from his home while firing a gun he got himself for Christmas at an energy drink can in his back yard.

As told in court documents reviewed by NBC News, the death of Sandra Phelps at the hands of Cody Wayne Adams illustrates how deadly the consequences can be when those engaging in the US’s prevalent gun culture do so unsafely. Adams’s back yard was not equipped to stop bullets from leaving the property and striking unsuspecting people in the surrounding area, according to authorities.

Phelps was sitting under a covered porch with family on Christmas and holding a child in her arms when they heard gunshots north of the house, said an affidavit laying out the circumstances of Adams’s arrest.

“Sandra commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas and then shortly after Sandra said ‘ouch’ and collapsed,” the affidavit said. It said there were no more gunshots after that.

Advertisement

Emergency personnel were dispatched to Phelps’s address at about 3.15pm Thursday, the Stephens county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“We later received a call stating an individual had just received a gun for Christmas and was target practicing in his backyard and that they believed it would be pointing in the direction of the scene,” the sheriff’s office statement added.

“Investigators went to the reported address and spoke with an individual [who] confirmed he was shooting a target in his back yard and that he had heard that someone has died from a gunshot wound a couple of roads over.”

That individual was Adams, 33, who showed deputies a Red Bull can in his back yard that he had been shooting with his handgun, according to the affidavit justifying his arrest.

Authorities allegedly concluded that the vantage point from where Adams was shooting aligned with the angle of the bullet that killed Phelps. They also determined the home lacked a suitable shooting backstop meant to protect those in the surrounding area from being struck by stray bullets.

Advertisement

“Adams became visibly upset and began to cry” when he learned of Phelps, the affidavit added. He was arrested on a count of first-degree manslaughter and later released on a $100,000 bond.

In the US, unintentional deaths from firearms are a small percentage of gun deaths in the country. But they occur four times more often in the US than in comparable countries – and most involve a handgun.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending