Homeless In Muskogee

An Entire Block of Empty Buildings Downtown

I have done some researching around the nearest, medium-sized city (Muskogee, Oklahoma), on "shelter" that is available to the homeless in our area. What I found was maddening!

First, most of your homeless shelters are now CLOSED. We have one left that is open (the Gospel Rescue Mission), but it is for men ONLY. This shelter is so overfull that there is a long waiting list for a night's rest, there, and men are sleeping all over the area around it, even the cold, hard sidewalks. Although this would give men a place indoors, out of the weather, I have been told by a couple of homeless men that they actually feel much safer OUTDOORS, braving the elements, than sleeping inside that place. Another young man, just last week, told me that most of the men there are ex convicts. I am not saying that that means they are bad or dangerous, everyone makes mistakes from time to time, I am just saying that that makes other men nervous about staying there.

We have a Battered Women's shelter. It isn't JUST for homeless women, but it is for any women that have been battered, left their abuser, and have no where to go. But ONLY battered women (and maybe their children) qualify for this shelter.

Currently, there are NO shelters available in Muskogee for homeless single women, women with children, nor families (non abused). There are empty buildings all over this town, many areas look like Ghost Neighborhoods, yet NOTHING is available for the homeless in these groups! There used to be a small area in our downtown where some of the homeless "camped out", but it was shut down a few years back. Ever since I learned of this situation (homeless families, women and children, only having the open outdoors to sleep) it has been constantly on my mind and brings tears to my eyes. Husbands can leave their families and go get on the waiting list to sleep indoors at the Rescue Mission, but there are no safe places for the women and children!!!  Recently, I learned of one young mother with 2 small children. The mother had just had surgery and a near brush with death so cannot work at this time. Yet Human Services told her if she did not quickly find a house, with running water, they were going to take her kids and put them in foster care. GRRRRR!!!!

Just a little further away (about a 45-minute drive) is a large city.  They had a Tent City for a long, time, but I also learned last week that that, too, has been shut down and all of those people are now looking for somewhere else to sleep.

The availability of "safe" places to sleep - store belongings - etc. - in our area looks very GRIM!