Employees of a local health center that provides services to people experiencing homelessness fear the center’s incoming closure will harm the community.
HUB 107, set to close Friday, is planned to merge with the Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center, a state mental health center on Alameda Street. Both centers are run by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
The facility, which opened in August 2022, was a peer-led drop-in center that provided counseling and health resources. The hub aimed to serve people with mental illness, veterans, those who use substances and people experiencing homelessness. It also served as a practicum location for graduate students at the OU School of Social Work.
A spokesperson for the state department of mental health wrote in an email to OU Daily Monday that it will provide most of the same services as the hub, including food, clothing, pet supplies and vaccines. However, it won’t offer laundry and shower services that HUB 107 provided.
The spokesperson wrote that the mental health center is seeking to partner with another agency to provide these services.
The spokesperson wrote in a follow-up email Wednesday that all HUB 107 employees will retain their jobs and job titles.
OU Daily spoke with two HUB 107 employees, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation.
Employee A told the Daily Tuesday that employees found out about the closure on Oct. 7, with less than two weeks' notice. Employee A said there isn’t enough time to transfer all of their services to the Alameda Street location and there could be gaps in services during the transition.
The shower service is particularly important to people experiencing homelessness, Employee A said, because the hub is one of three facilities in Norman with showers anyone can use.
Employee A said hub staff will be placed in departments where they are needed and may not hold the same roles.
The hub is shutting down due to budget constraints, according to a joint press release from Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman), Rep. Jared Deck (D-Norman), Rep. Annie Menz (D-Norman) and Rep. Jacob Rosecrants (D-Norman), where they condemned the closure.
“Diminishing a resource that serves entire communities only perpetuates negative cycles of public health and poverty,” the release reads.
Employee B told the Daily Thursday that the closure was unexpected and “a slap in the face.”
Employee B said the mental health center won’t be as welcoming to hub participants as they claim. They said it won’t be able to see as many people as the hub does, and they believe people experiencing homelessness won’t be as welcome to use the restroom or get snacks, and will likely be reported for trespassing.
State funding
Employee B said claims of the closure being due to budget cuts don’t make sense, since the state already provides minimal funding. Employee B said the state used to provide items such as soap and shampoo, but now employees fundraise or pay out of their own pockets.
According to the legislators' press release, the state owns the HUB 107 building.
“They don't care about us, they don't care about anyone,” Employee B said. “There's no funding issue with this place.”
Employee A said the hub cannot bill insurance and believed that not having that revenue may have led to the facility’s closure.
Legislators wrote in the press release that they’re concerned by the loss of hygiene resources for people experiencing homelessness.
“HUB 107 has served as a buffer between our unhoused community and our downtown area business and homeowners,” the release reads. “The loss of this buffer could result in more public incidents.”
The legislators wrote that the closure forces the community to feel the brunt of financial issues, and blamed the state department of mental health and Gov. Kevin Stitt for the budget cuts. They wrote that they’ll continue to promote accessible housing and mental health services.
“Fortunately, Norman has a history of stepping up for our neighbors in times of struggle, and we stand resolved in that collective endurance,” the release reads. “However, the state has a responsibility to this community which has provided critical access for so many services over the past century, and we are working to hold the state accountable to that.”
On Oct. 10, the state department of mental health announced cuts to services, including severing clinical contracts, according to a press release. The cuts will remedy the past “decade of overspending and weak financial controls,” the release reads. The budget request is asking for an additional $20 million legislative appropriation to cover additional costs.
Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman said losing a resource like HUB 107 exacerbates statewide issues like homelessness, mental health and physical health. The mental health center won’t be able to support people experiencing homelessness at the same level the hub does, he said.
Holman said statewide decisions made about mental health services have been frustrating. Despite tax cuts, the grocery tax elimination and the state’s budget surplus, Holman said the state hasn’t allocated enough funds to mental health initiatives.
“We're able to do all those things, but yet, we can't adequately fund mental health care services in Oklahoma, and that's one of the major issues that our state struggles with,” Holman said.
The Virtue Center, a similar clinic in Norman, grappled with substantial funding loss last April when its contract with the state department of mental health wasn’t renewed. In its latest fiscal report, the Virtue Center wrote that budget cuts make it difficult to maintain its services and asked for community and donor support.
The facility hosted a cookout Friday for participants and the community. Employee B told the Daily in a text Thursday that safety authorities will be present, and employees have been discouraged from speaking to the press.
“I guess we’re having a big cookout or food festival to send them off to the streets,” Employee B said. “How f----- is that?”
This story was edited by Natalie Armour, Thomas Pablo, Anusha Fathepure and Ana Barboza. Tori Pham and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
