Food and Shelter announced its decision to part ways with A Friend's House after over two years of operation.
Food and Shelter, a nonprofit organization that aims to support people experiencing homelessness and operator of Norman’s emergency shelter, announced it will part ways with A Friend's House in a Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, the new contract terms don't align with the standards we believe are essential for providing dignity and care to those in need,” the post read.
In the comments of the post, Ward 2 Councilmember Matthew Peacock expressed his regards for the work of A Friend's House and April Doshier, executive director of Food and Shelter.
“This news came as an absolute shock to me. Thank you April for pouring your heart and soul into this project, and I really regret that this is the outcome,” Peacock wrote. “Please know that you still have so many supporters in Norman, and that this isn’t the end of the road.”
A Friend's House, the city’s emergency shelter, has been in operation since 2022, has 52 beds and is temporarily located on Gray Street.
In May, City Auditor Shaakira Calnick proposed a series of amendments to the city’s contract with Food and Shelter, such as securing 109 W. Gray St. as a permanent shelter location, conducting a cost analysis of the location and training shelter personnel under the Approved Medication Assistive Personnel program.
This came after Calnick issued a report accusing Food and Shelter of mismanaging $9,835.60 of facility funds from November 2022 to February 2024, with an additional $20,542 remaining unaccounted. Calnick’s report also alleged that Doshier was given unexplained raises and bonuses.
Doshier appeared in a City Council Oversight Committee meeting on June 13 where, on behalf of Food and Shelter, she denied the findings of Calnick's report.
“A contract was drafted and executed by the city of Norman by city staff. City staff drafted that contract in its entirety. Every bit of that language was your language,” Doshier said. “The Food and Shelter board reviewed that contract and did not make any negotiations, any changes, any amendments, approved it, signed it and we executed it. And to this day, we have executed that contract to its tee. We’ve not violated one aspect of that contract, period. There’s no evidence to that.”
In June, Adam Clinton, board president of Food and Shelter wrote in a press release that the city auditor misused the term "disappearing" when referring to the unaccounted funds and Doshier had earned her salary over the course of her 14 years as executive director of Food and Shelter.
An update was posted to the city of Norman website in response to Food and Shelter’s Facebook post Thursday.
“Although the City has worked in good faith to reach contract resolutions agreeable to both parties regarding audit findings initially shared in May 2024 and believed that progress had been made, the City respects the decision of the Food & Shelter Board and will discuss next steps regarding emergency shelter operations with City Council,” the update read.
On the post, Food and Shelter said it would still continue to manage A Friend's House until the city can find another operator.
“We are not going to leave our Friends House guests without a place to stay,” the post read. “While this chapter closes, Food and Shelter remains fully committed to serving our community, just as we've done for over 40 years.”
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ana Barboza. Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
