The Tulsa Day Center exists to offer people a safe haven, resources for self-sufficiency and opportunities to acquire new skills. People who are able to meet their immediate and urgent needs can then collect their inner resources and make positive life changes for themselves and their children.

Every day at Tulsa Day Center:

• We uphold the inherent dignity of each person by providing food, shelter, warmth, safety and cleanliness;
• We help clients develop individual goal plans, secure identification, provide referrals, crisis counseling and a range of basic resources-use of the phone, a mailing address, bus tokens and secure storage.
• We provide urgent care, TB testing, vision screening, health education, and referral to other health support systems through our state-of-the-art clinic.
• We link people to necessary community resources and programs;
• We educate community volunteers through personal involvement at the Day Center.

Last year the Day Center provided a safe, secure environment for more than 10,800 different individuals, a 10.6% increase over the year before. Everyday an average of 448 people-men, women, children, the elderly, individuals suffering from mental illness, and people with developmental and physical disabilities seek shelter and services at the Day Center.

At the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless people who are homeless experience low barrier access to intensive case management from professional counselors and to an onsite state-of-the-art medical clinic. Clients are also provided basic human services and assistance from a one-stop service center.

Night Shelter

History

In 1985, increasing numbers of homeless Tulsans were observed using the Central City-County Library and other public buildings for refuge from the weather. Then library executive director, Pat Woodrum, chose a compassionate approach to the situation, and contacted the Community Service Council (CSC). The CSC convened a committee of concerned Tulsans to look for a solution.

The committee subsequently approached Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry (TMM) and they agreed to found and sponsor the Day Center for the Homeless.

The Day Center opened in January 1986 in a renovated warehouse located at 210 N. Denver. Almost immediately the Day Center served more clients than were anticipated.

"The mission of the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, Inc. is to: (1) provide a safe, healthy environment for the people who are homeless and (2) provide opportunities and encourage participation for homeless people to achieve self-sufficiency."

Basic needs are provided such as shelter, clothing and personal hygiene. A Nurses' Clinic serves those with medical needs. In addition, the case managers of the Day Center work with guests to connect them with public and private agencies (many offering services on-site) to help them re-establish themselves in employment, housing, and self-sufficiency.

In 1990, the services of the Day Center were augmented by establishment of a Night Shelter. The Night Shelter serves the most vulnerable and at-risk segment of the homeless population: women and children, men with physical or mental disabilities, and men over 55.

On June 1, 1999 the TMM Day Center for the Homeless, became the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, Inc. With a newly formed Board of Directors and a strong history of twelve years of successfully providing quality services to the homeless people of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Day Center continues.

The Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless has become a model for other communities striving to develop quality services.