A specialized outreach team is helping Tulsa’s most vulnerable homeless population get into stable housing.
The Tulsa Day Center introduced the “Blue Team” three years ago.
Reporter Ginnie Graham wrote about the team for Oklahoma Watch. She said these frontline workers help the most chronically unhoused people get off the streets.
“They’re the ones who are on the street, sort of yelling to the clouds. They are, when people think about homelessness and public safety, this is the group. It’s a very small group.”
About 10 to 20% of Tulsa’s homeless population falls into a group known for chronic street sleeping and dealing with mental illnesses, often refusing help.
Graham saod the Blue Team takes a scientific approach pioneered by psychologist Xavier Amador to help those who actively refuse assistance.
“This is a group of people who don’t realize they are mentally ill. If you’re trying to convince someone they’re sick or they’re mentally ill, you’re wasting your time, so we have to have a different approach to do that.”
Graham reported that, over a two-year period, the Blue Team worked with 43 people in Tulsa who fell in such a category. Of those 43, all of them have since agreed to move into some kind of housing program, and many have sought treatment for their mental illnesses. Graham initially reported that one individual did return to the streets, but has since rejoined the Blue Team's outreach program.
To find out more about the Blue Team, read Ginnie Graham’s article on Oklahoma Watch.
