Tulsa chief resilience officer outlines new Department of Resilience and Equity, programs and partnerships

Deontre Hayes, Tulsa’s chief resilience officer, told the Human Rights Commission on Sept. (date not specified) that the city’s newly created Department of Resilience and Equity will focus on four pillars — creating an inclusive future, equipping Tulsans to overcome barriers, advancing economic opportunity and transforming city and regional systems — and six functional areas including mental health and well-being, immigrant and refugee inclusion, data and policy, financial empowerment, justice and human rights, and civic and community engagement.

Hayes said this is the department’s first year as a standalone entity and that the administrative change “signifies the importance of the work that we do with commissions such as yourself being integrated into the city functions.” She described the department’s approach to substance use as “substance use disorder” response rather than a generic “drug” framing, and said mental-health work will intersect with housing for people who are displaced and have co-occurring needs.

The department publishes the Tulsa Equality Indicators, an annual data report Hayes said is intended to measure disparities between groups and to guide policy. “If you are a data nerd like myself … go through those numbers and figures and understand how we measure those disparities,” Hayes said. She said the Financial Empowerment Center — free counseling and services operated with partners including Goodwill and Tulsa Response — has been open for almost five years and that the office is moving from basic credit and budgeting help toward “legacy planning” and savings strategies.

Hayes described a genealogy project and a new commission, Beyond Apology, as part of efforts to acknowledge historical harms and improve outcomes for affected communities. She also said Tulsa was designated a certified welcoming city by the national nonprofit Welcome in America in 2023 and that the city just kicked off Welcoming Week with a naturalization ceremony, calling it “a week of celebration of inclusion.”

On public safety and violence prevention, Hayes said the department is partnering with Impact Tulsa, Youth Services of Tulsa, the Terrence Crutcher Foundation, Cure Violence Global and the Tulsa Police Department to identify hot spots and deploy “credible messengers” and outreach teams; Hayes said more details about deployments would be announced later.

Commissioners asked how the city’s language access policy works. Commissioner Anna asked, “Is it just for written materials? Is it also interpretation, not spoken?” Hayes replied the policy has primarily been used internally for city documents and forms, and that the city contracts with an outside company for translation services; funding is available to translate vital documents and the policy is expanding to cover major languages.

Commissioners and Hayes discussed ways the Human Rights Commission could support departmental goals. Hayes suggested participation in educational outreach and collaborating on work tied to human-rights ordinance language and equitable recruitment activities.

Votes at a glance

The commission approved the August minutes earlier in the meeting after a motion and second; one commissioner registered an abstention and the chair called the minutes approved. The meeting later concluded on a motion to adjourn that passed.

Ending

Hayes said the department would circulate links to the Tulsa Equality Indicators and a save-the-date for an upcoming summit where commissioners could comment on indicators and strategies. She remained in the meeting after her presentation to take additional questions.