Oklahoma City Shelters Exceed Capacity Between Rounds Of Winter Storm 

Oklahoma City homeless shelters opened overflow beds Wednesday night to house hundreds during a frigid winter storm. 

Organizations including the Homeless Alliance, City Care OKC, and City Rescue Mission exceeded normal capacity. 

Homeless Alliance Dan Straughan said their Day Shelter, which opened as an overflow shelter with an 80-bed capacity, housed 165 people Wednesday night. The facility near downtown OKC had 149 people stay the night on Tuesday. 

“The day shelter-- when we’re using it like a night shelter-- it’s a bit like an Irish family. There’s always room for one more. We’re never going to leave anyone out in the cold,” Straughan said. 

Shanda Glover of the City Rescue Mission said the facility’s shelter for men reached capacity before 6 p.m. Tuesday. 

“We’re not turning anyone away,” Glover said. “If someone comes in and is in need of shelter, we will allow them to come in. We’ll find space for them.” 

City Care OKC and the Salvation Army both opened overflow beds for multiple nights during the week. 

Straughan said even without a winter storm, shelters are short on bed capacity compared to Oklahoma City’s homeless population. 

“In Oklahoma City, on any given night, about 1,600 people experience homelessness,” Straughan said. “Across our 8 homeless shelters in Oklahoma City, we have about 950 beds. So there’s a significant number of unsheltered homeless people on any given night, winter or summer.”