City Care of Norman provided 14,266 nights of shelter to 299 people through September, the nonprofit reported in its latest monthly update.
In the year-to-date figures, according to the Norman Transcript, the organization reported an average stay of 52 nights. Forty-five percent of those served were experiencing chronic homelessness.
The shelter is full.
City Care operates the facility under a contract with the City of Norman on Gray Street. It has a 52-person capacity. KGOU reported in August that the shelter turns away between 30 and 50 people a month to stay within that limit.
In an article published Oct. 9 by Oklahoma Watch, Rachel Freeman, president and CEO of City Care, said everyone in the organization's permanent supportive housing program was chronically homeless and has a physical or mental disability. She said the organization focuses on people at that intersection.
"That intersection has been the place that City Care has specialized," Freeman told Oklahoma Watch.
The Norman Transcript reported the September update referenced new partnerships aimed at advancing housing placement for shelter guests but did not detail them.
Norman's broader shelter landscape remains unsettled. Voters approved an $8 million bond in April to build a permanent homeless shelter, but construction is on hold while the Oklahoma Supreme Court considers an appeal challenging the bond's approval, KGOU reported.
Freeman also told Oklahoma Watch on Oct. 9 that a federal shift away from housing-first policies toward treatment-first models could raise barriers for people with complex needs. The new federal model emphasizes economic self-sufficiency and workforce production.
"… It will be a really high bar for folks who have complex psychiatric symptoms or disabilities or even just families experiencing homelessness with small children," Freeman said in that interview.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has not set a date for its ruling on the shelter bond appeal.
