Former Ward 4 Norman City Council candidate Teresa Borum filed two petitions on Feb. 7 that, if successful, would impact the way Norman leaders make location and funding decisions for city-run shelters.
One, a petition for council members to consider, pushes for the banning of city shelters from being placed within a half-mile from schools, daycares and parks before the next city election. The other, an initiative petition co-signed by Unite Norman co-founder Sassan Moghadam and Stephen Teel, calls for a requirement that all proposed tax dollar expenditures on homeless shelters be put to a public vote.
City of Norman Chief Communications Officer Tiffany Vrska wrote in an email that the initiative petition could impact the city’s ability to use community development block grant funds, CARES Act funds, American Rescue Plan Act funds or general fund tax dollars on a shelter by requiring voters to approve expenditures. The other petition could limit options for placing a resource for homeless residents.
City leaders must balance the needs of Norman’s homeless residents with those of other community members, Borum said. Homelessness is not an issue concentrated in only Ward 4, and the area — which is quite compact — already has several resources for residents without homes, she added.
April Doshier, the Food and Shelter executive director, said the Ward 4 city council election made clear that the majority of the ward’s voters didn’t support Borum’s campaign pledges related to homelessness. While she said she understands concerns about homelessness resources being concentrated in Ward 4, spreading them across town will make them more difficult to access.
Borum said city leaders are focused on building low-barrier overnight shelters in the ward, which concerns her because of the types of people the resources might attract. Borum said, in a meeting with her and Ward 4 Councilmember Lee Hall, former Norman Homeless Program Coordinator Michelle Evans explained low-barrier shelters have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, meaning sex offenders and people with histories of violence are allowed to stay there. Norman currently has two overnight shelters, according to the McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church Resource List.
While state laws exist banning sex offenders from residing within a 2,000-foot-radius from educational institutions, playgrounds or parks, Borum said there aren’t any laws banning a homeless shelter from being placed next to these areas, pushing her to file an initiative petition. Ward 4 has more schools than any other ward, so she said it’s important for it to have a safe environment that helps prevent kids from becoming homeless in the future.
Borum said she’s also concerned about the potential for drug dealers to go to the ward to sell to people without homes. Dimensions, a school that provides an “alternative education program,” is in the area, and Borum said she worries about those students being around drugs.
“I don't compromise when it comes to the safety of children,” Borum said. “I don't believe anybody should compromise with the safety of children.”
Borum said city leaders must also consider the effects of future shelter placements beyond potentially endangering students. The downtown area has pre-existing issues with homeless people sleeping in doorways, which might be exacerbated by a new shelter there, Borum said. Homeless people taking up space on sidewalks and begging passersby for money can deter people from spending time downtown, she said, which can harm business and indirectly hurt homeless people, as tax dollars help support homelessness resources.
The city council is also considering placing a homeless shelter next to the city’s new senior center, which could compromise the safety of older Norman residents who are often already vulnerable, Borum said. She said many of the people visiting the senior center are living on a fixed income, and some also have declining memories, meaning they might not have the courage to say no to requests for money.
When Borum expressed her concerns to Hall, she said Hall sympathized with her concerns but told her a new shelter was going to be placed in the ward regardless. Borum said she was shocked and reached out to many of her neighbors and learned they’d gotten similar responses from Hall.
Finding a solution will take work, but there are many potential shelter locations that also protect other citizens, Borum said. She also said she’s concerned city leaders aren’t worried about representing their constituents’ concerns accurately, which pushed her to file the petition calling for greater community input in shelter funding.
A bond issue that would have funded homelessness solutions was voted down by Norman residents in 2020, and Borum said Hall told her the decision would be put to the city council instead of another public vote, citing the fact that the bond issue almost passed.
Borum said this felt like city leaders were putting words in voters’ mouths. Voters need to be given all the information they need to make an informed vote, Borum said, adding that people’s opinions can be skewed by failing to provide a complete picture of an issue.
Low-barrier city-run homeless shelters are drastically different from nonprofits, as they end up attracting people from out of town and costing more money, Borum said. According to research published in May 2021, organizations in 2015 that only provided shelter received approximately $14,064 in revenue per bed for single adults, and shelters that provided shelter and additional services — like behavioral and mental health services and case management — received $25,806 per bed.
She added that while nonprofits can individualize the care they provide, city-run shelters are more of a one-size-fits-all solution. If the petition is approved by voters, she said the city can still invite more nonprofits to provide services.
“I believe in helping people, but as a city, how many do you help?” Borum said. “We want to help those who are Normanites, but can we help all of Oklahoma City's homeless? Can we help all of Tulsa’s homeless? All of the state of Oklahoma's homeless? The country’s? Where does it stop?”
Doshier said it’s quite likely that more nonprofits will move to Norman, as City Manager Darrel Pyle said the city is a facilitator, not a direct service provider, for homelessness needs during a Feb. 1 study session. However, she said if it becomes harder for city-run shelters to be built, individuals without homes will sleep in public areas, putting more strain on neighborhoods.
“Ultimately, everybody agrees that seeing people sleep on the streets and in parks and all the trash they leave behind is a bad thing,” Doshier said. “Everybody agrees on that. The solution is the same, no matter how you feel. The solution is (to) give them a place to sleep at night. … So I think it's coming from a place of ignorance and fear that is unnecessary.”
Community response to the two petitions has generally been very positive, Borum said. According to city law, a petitioner has 90 days to collect at least 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the previous mayoral election. If they reach that amount, the initiative triggers a citywide public vote.
Borum filed her initiative petition before the Feb. 8 election, meaning she’ll have to garner at least 3,265 signatures, according to the city website. So far, she said she has around 250 signatures. Reaching the vote goal depends heavily on other community members getting involved, as with a full-time job, Borum said the time she can spend knocking on doors is limited.
“It's going to require a lot of people who are willing to donate time, but I do know that there are a lot of people who are passionate about what's … on both of (the petitions),” Borum said. “There's nothing radical, this is just (the) safety of our children, and let us vote. And they're in full support of … both of them.”
