Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Better Way program credited with connecting thousands to work, housing and services
Summary
City presenters described A Better Way — a program that pairs work crews with case managers — as having helped more than 3,000 people into services, housing or jobs, and credited the program with connecting participants to mental‑health and employment services.
City presenters described A Better Way, a city‑funded program that hires people who otherwise were panhandling, as an alternative pathway to services and employment.
Speakers said the program provides a day’s wages for cleaning and community work and pairs participants with a case manager and an employment specialist during the lunch hour. The presentation said “over 3,000 people have been helped through this program,” and described dozens of people moved into housing and hundreds who got jobs and mental‑health assistance.
Individuals who said they used the program described being connected to jobs and said work helped their wellbeing. The city presentation said the program operates in partnership with Mental Health Association Oklahoma and that it was “the first program of its kind in our state.”
Speakers framed the program as an outreach and workforce connection tool rather than a law enforcement response to panhandling.
