Key to Home housing 75 people, closing largest encampment

Published on August 20, 2026

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The Key to Home Partnership has kept up with its momentum, continuing its encampment rehousing initiative even after exceeding its goal of housing 500 people by the end of 2025.  

The initiative recently closed an encampment located along Virginia Avenue. From this site, 55 people have moved into housing with supportive services designed to help them stabilize for long-term success. An additional 20 people from this site are still in the housing process with pending move-ins.

“After extensive research and planning, we prioritized this site given its size, safety concerns, and proximity to active traffic,” said Jamie Caves, strategy implementation manager for Key to Home. “We were committed to developing a thoughtful plan that offered real solutions for the neighborhood, as well as a dignified response for those living in the encampment."

Several organizations providing direct services and support partnered to make this happen:

  • Homeless Alliance and staff from Mental Health Association provided outreach and engagement services to those living in the encampment.
  • City Rescue Mission secured the apartments for those living in the encampment.
  • Focus on Home furnished the new apartments with household necessities.
  • Oklahoma City Housing Authority and Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency assisted with rental subsidies.
  • The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM) cleaned the site.
  • The City of Oklahoma City and the OKCPD Homeless Outreach Team secured the site and will monitor to prevent backfilling.
  • Catholic Charities, City Rescue Mission, and the Homeless Alliance will provide case management over the next year to help those formerly unhoused adjust and recover.

“We’re grateful for the vital partnership of the service providers whose hard work makes this kind of success possible,” added Caves. “We’re not shuffling people from site to site, we’re providing solutions that result in long-term stability and transformation in people’s lives."

To date, Key to Home’s Encampment Rehousing Initiative has housed nearly 700 people and families experiencing homelessness, closed 35 encampment sites and worked to monitor those sites to prevent repopulation. Encampment rehousing is part of a broader,  data-driven strategy by Key to Home to reduce homelessness in Oklahoma City. To learn more about Key to Home’s strategic priorities, visit keytohomeokc.org. 

About the Key to Home Partnership

The Key to Home Partnership, a collaboration of more than 50 organizations, working together to end homelessness in Oklahoma City. By aligning efforts of service providers, sharing data, and investing in proven strategies, Key to Home is building a stronger, more effective homeless response system.  

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