As I drive up to our property in NW Tulsa, there was this huge old American Elm tree on the 2.5 acres to our north. This property also had 14 old abandoned dumpy houses on it, that have been abandoned for many years and were falling apart. Being such an eyesore, we wanted them gone, […]
Read MoreCan you imagine having to live out on the streets now, as hot as it’s been in Tulsa for much of the summer? As I’m writing this in mid to late August, we’re experiencing day after day of brutal triple digit heat. For most of us, while it’s hard on the electric bill and somewhat […]
Read MoreIn Tulsa, we have over 3,000 people living without a home. Yes, the “official” Point in Time count from last January was less than that, but people in the homeless service world will tell you it’s an undercount. I participated in the count, and it’s just impossible to count every person living without a home […]
Read MoreI was invited to speak to a 6th grade class in Jenks recently to share about homelessness, as the students are preparing a presentation on this important issue. They had called several non-profits in Tulsa serving in the homeless arena and guess who was the only one who gladly took them up on their offer? […]
Read MoreI just learned that we lost another person living on the streets without a home, Stacy Wilson. I met Stacy in early January, as I was leaving Tulsa City Hall from another meeting there about developing Eden Village. This really tall dude comes up and in a desperate voice tells me he needs shoes that […]
Read MoreA common statement I hear from some folks is, “why don’t these homeless just get a job and work?” The perception is that they are just lazy, don’t want to work, and like the lifestyle they are in on the streets. Well…..it’s a little more complicated than that! Michael Overall from the Tulsa World wrote […]
Read MoreWe have our two model tiny-home models set up, one at Christ the Redeemer Church just east of Lewis on 71st, and the other at Jenks Care Point just east of 91st & Delaware. We have them furnished and staffed most mornings and late afternoons with me and volunteers. Our goal is to take our […]
Read MoreMy wife and I were recently at our Colorado mountain cabin, where we get the local Denver news station. They have an election for their new Mayor next month. You know what the #1 issue that the many Mayor candidates are talking and arguing about? Homelessness. And this is in a city that will spend […]
Read MoreOne of my all time favorite movies is Field of Dreams, where Kevin Costner hears the mysterious voice in the baseball field whispering, “If you build it, they will come.” This is where we are with Eden Village of Tulsa it seems. No, I did not hear an audible voice telling me to build a […]
Read MoreSo close, but totally different worlds, separated only by a concrete wall. Yesterday some Men from our Redeemer Church in Tulsa made 120 breakfast burritos, fruit, yogurt, and other goodies for the folks from the streets. We do this once a month at The Merchant, a great non-profit serving our homeless friends in the 6th […]
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