'It's been awful': Family of four loses everything, fends for themselves on OKC streets
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hardships for many people over the last year, including those experiencing homelessness.
From job loss to evictions, the challenges have resulted, for some, to end up on the streets.
“It’s been awful. I’ve worked my whole life,” Denielle Hood said.
Denielle and Cody Hood told FOX 25 they lost everything. In December, Denielle said she ran out of unemployment and by January, they were evicted from their home.
She said she and her husband and two kids, six and fourteen years old, had to go to the Salvation Army for shelter.
“We’ve just been struggling. We had nowhere else to go,” Denielle Hood said.
Unfortunately, their story is similar to many others. In January, the Oklahoma County Court Clerk’s office reported 1,172 eviction orders were filed.
Meanwhile, thousands are still waiting for their unemployment benefits from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
Dan Straughan, executive director at the Homeless Alliance said the homeless population has been steadily rising but could be much worse.
“They extended the moratorium on evictions until Jan. 31. That potential 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 evictions got pushed back,” Straughan said. “If you have 20,000 households, that’s not individuals, that’s households, so maybe 50,000 or 60,000 individuals who could be evicted Jan.1, and we had literally, with social distancing, 600 beds in the homeless system. 600 beds, 20,000 households. It would have been disastrous. Catastrophic.”
During the city’s 2019 Point in Time count, 1,273 people were counted as homeless.
In 2020, 1,573 people were considered to be homeless.
According to Oklahoma City’s 2020 Point in Time Count report, “This year’s Point in Time report is being published during an unprecedented time of upheaval in Oklahoma City and around the world. The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting eco-nomic catastrophe have turned lives upside down. We may only begin to see the full impact on the population of people experiencing homelessness in OKC when work on the 2021 Point in Time count starts.”
Similar to the Hood family, Scott Hall said he lost his job around June.
“My company went under. Now I’m struggling like no other. No place to go. (Homeless) shelter is even shutting down because of it,” Hall said. “I was a traveling welder. I had my own rig and everything, working fulltime on job sites from here to California and back.”
Before he knew it, he told FOX 25 he was abandoned in Oklahoma and is now homeless.
“I got a little duffel bag and sleeping bag. I curl up in it with an extra cover and hope for the best. I hope to wake up the next morning,” Hall said.
The growing need, slowly outpacing the help that’s available. As homeless shelters fill up, makeshift camps grow larger, leaving many looking for food, somewhere to sleep and a way to ward off a deadly virus.
“I can’t get into a dry bed. (It’s) colder than hell out here. You know? It’s a rough thing. It’s real life. All I can do is keep going,” Hall said.
Straughan said early in the pandemic, all Oklahoma City shelters made the decision to shut down, only continuing to provide food, grab and go style.
“One of the smartest things we did, everyone drastically reduced client, volunteer activities. Which was a real hardship for us because of all the shelter providers, we rely on volunteers for labor,” Straughan said. “We know when there’s community spread of the virus, it’s happening at restaurants, bars and movie theaters, and parties and stuff. Things people experiencing homelessness don’t do. But volunteers that come in to help, they do. Stopping those volunteer activities, although it was a real hardship, kept the positivity rate in Oklahoma City homeless population really low.”
Straughan said the positivity rate within the homeless population is currently at 3.9%.
“That’s compared to 20-21% in the general population,” Straughan said.
He said since September, they’ve been able to test more than 5,000 people within its homeless community for COVID-19.
“We are testing both clients and the staff who serve them. Most of our positives are the staff who serve them,” Straughan said.
No deaths have been reported.
“As a community we’ve done really well so far. We ask ourselves every day, how long can this last?” Straughan said.
In addition to testing, Straughan said they’ve installed germicidal ultraviolet lighting in some of its shelters.
“It kills the virus. Not just coronavirus but all viruses,” Straughan said.
The UV lights will help prevent spread for those who do enter its shelters.
FOX 25 talked to many people experiencing homelessness, who thanked the shelters and volunteers who still work to provide them meals and clothes every day.
“They’re able to come out and feed us and give us clothing and things of that nature so they’re still helping,” Cleanna Alexander said, a homeless woman.
“That means the most. That’s the switch between life and death. An extra blanket. An extra layer of insulation on your skin. That’s what’s needed out here,” Hall said.
“We put meals in a Styrofoam clam shell and people get it and eat it outside,” Straughan said.
“It’s an honor to serve,” a volunteer with the Salvation Army said while passing out a hot meal and extra clothes.
As for the Hood family, they said they are looking for their next move, trying to figure out what to do next while remaining optimistic.
“We’re all together. We’re hard workers. There’s got to be something. It’s got to get better, right? It can’t get much worse,” Denielle Hood said. “Hopefully we’re getting jobs. If we get jobs and then housing soon then we should be O.K.”
FOX 25 will have a full 30-minute special airing Friday on the Primetime News and Nine with more about the Hood family’s journey and how organizations around the metro are working to help the homeless community during the pandemic.