Safe Move Tulsa Nears Halfway Point with More Than 130 People Housed, 9 Encampments Permanently Closed

Safe Move Tulsa Nears Halfway Point with More Than 130 People Housed, 9 Encampments Permanently Closed

5/26/2026

Tulsa's Safe Move Tulsa strategy continues to show measurable progress as City leaders today announced the successful closure of three additional encampments and the housing of 23 more individuals experiencing homelessness.

Launched in late 2025 through a partnership between the City of Tulsa, Housing Solutions, A Way Home for Tulsa (AWH4T), nonprofit service providers, business leaders, and philanthropic partners - Safe Move Tulsa was designed to reduce unsheltered homelessness by combining coordinated outreach, housing placement, intensive case management, rapid interventions, and sustained encampment resolution efforts.

With today's announcement, Safe Move Tulsa has now:

• Housed 134 individuals experiencing homelessness, with additional housing placements pending for numerous others
• Cleaned more than 100 tons of trash and debris from City properties
• Successfully closed nine encampments across Tulsa, including the closure of Downtown to long-term street sleeping; and
• Maintained closure at every encampment site decommissioned through the strategy so far

City leaders say they expect the strategy to surpass the halfway point of its first-year goal of housing 300 individuals from encampments in early June.

"As we approach the midway point of our first-year goal, we're seeing what's possible when Tulsa commits to both compassionate outreach and meaningful accountability," Mayor Nichols said. "To reach functional zero homelessness by 2030, we must continue to put our heads together and align our priorities around the things - like Safe Move Tulsa - that are moving us forward."

Today's announcement comes as Tulsa's broader homelessness response system is beginning to report encouraging signs of stabilization after years of consistent increases in homelessness. Annual data from A Way Home for Tulsa (AWH4T) partners, which is expected to be released later this week, is anticipated to show promising data, reflecting the community's increased focus on reducing street homelessness and connecting individuals to shelter, housing, and services.

While City leaders say more work remains ahead, they say that early indicators show Tulsa's coordinated community-wide response, including the large push of Safe Move Tulsa, is beginning to slow and reverse years of worsening homelessness trends.

"Our community is continuing to show that homelessness can be solved," Housing Solutions CEO Mark Smith said. "These latest sites demonstrate our continued progress with more people moving from the streets to housing, more locations returned to their intended use, and further progress reducing homelessness overall. This progress is the result of continued commitment, investment, and partnership that is finally bending the curve of rising homelessness in Tulsa"

New Closures
As part of the new decommissioning work across the city, Safe Move Tulsa today announced the successful closure of three additional encampments located near:

• E. 71st St. S. and S. Granite Ave.
• E. Pine St. and N. Mingo Rd. (private property)
• E. 31st St. and S. Sheridan Rd.

With these latest closures, the strategy has now successfully decommissioned nine encampments citywide, all of which have remained closed following coordinated outreach, cleanup, housing placement, and ongoing monitoring efforts.

Public Safety Benefits
Officials say the prolonged closures are producing measurable public safety benefits such as returning officers to the field more quickly.

Since the closure of the Eagle's Nest encampment - the first encampment decommissioned under Safe Move Tulsa - Tulsa Police Department response activity at the site has dropped from nearly 12 hours per week responding to calls and incidents to approximately two hours per week focused primarily on maintaining the closure. Officials say that reduction has helped return officer time back to broader public safety efforts across the city.

"For too long, communities across the country have treated homelessness and public safety as competing priorities," Mayor Nichols added. "Safe Move Tulsa is showing that lasting progress requires both. When people are connected to housing, treatment, and support - and when encampments are resolved in a coordinated and sustained way - we improve quality of life not only for those experiencing homelessness, but for the entire community."

Successful Results of Housing Placement
A major focus of Safe Move Tulsa has been ensuring individuals remain stably housed after leaving encampments. To date, no individual housed through the strategy has returned to homelessness.

YWCA Tulsa currently has nine dedicated case managers supporting Safe Move Tulsa clients. Case managers work closely with individuals - in some cases meeting daily - to help stabilize housing placements, connect clients to healthcare and behavioral health services, support recovery goals, and develop long-term plans for stability and self-sufficiency. Additional case management capacity from other A Way Home for Tulsa partners is coming online as the strategy continues to scale.

Expanding Rapid Exits and System Capacity
In addition to encampment resolution efforts, Safe Move Tulsa is also expanding the implementation of "rapid exits," which are targeted, low-cost interventions designed to quickly help individuals avoid prolonged homelessness.

Rapid exits can include assistance with rental deposits, transportation reunification, vehicle repairs, or other short-term barriers preventing someone from regaining stability. The strategy's first-year goal includes achieving 1,000 rapid exits. Tulsa officials will share more information on this work next month.

Current and Future Investments
Safe Move Tulsa's first year includes approximately $11 million in combined public, private, and philanthropic investment, including:

• • $6 million in one-time funds from the City of Tulsa
• • $4 million from the Tulsa Leadership Council
• • $1 million from philanthropic partners
  
  The City remains on track to fully utilize current funding commitments while discussions continue regarding future investment opportunities as part of the ongoing FY27 budget process and continuing engagement with partners and donors.

Track Our Progress
Tulsa is tracking its progress through the new strategy at www.SafeMoveTulsa.com, which is an online resource to track up-to-date statistics and information. The website includes a detailed map of where the decommissioned encampments are, in addition to other helpful information.

The website also helps show the long-term vision of the strategy, showing what's needed to keep the momentum going.