Mayor Holt says OKC's homeless percentage is decreasing

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - If you drive around Oklahoma City, you may often think the homeless population is getting worse. However, during the State of the City address, Mayor David Holt said the numbers show otherwise.

"One person experiencing homelessness is too many, and that's always the attitude we'll take," said Mayor David Holt.

Driving down the streets of OKC, you'll see tents, shopping carts, and Oklahomans living on the streets.

"Homelessness is just a very visible problem," said Meghan Mueller, with the Homeless Alliance. "When people don't have any place else to go they occupy public space."

Mueller said the nonprofit's hardest battle is perception.

"And the by-products of homelessness. Like the trash, and things like that can be difficult," said Mueller.

During the State of the City address, Mayor David Holt said that back in 2007, 547,790 people called Oklahoma City home. Out of those, 1,656 were homeless. Breaking that down further, for every 10,000 residents, 30 were homeless.

Fast forward to 2025, OKC is now home to 712,919 residents. Out of those, 1,719 are homeless. That means, for every 10,000 people, only 24 are homeless.

"It was no accident," said Mayor Holt.

Both Holt and Mueller said that's because of the partnerships between the city and nonprofits.

"We're all pulling on the same rope," said Mueller.

Mayor Holt said one of the biggest programs helping to curb the homeless population is the "Key to Home" program. It helps those experiencing homelessness get into apartments and gives them help for problems that may have put them on the street to begin with.

The city adopted that model from Houston, Texas, which is known as the best city in the nation for tackling homelessness.

"It's only getting more challenging and harder as we grow," said Holt.

With the population growing, this is not a burden that non-profits can bear alone.

"At the end of the day, there just aren't enough resources to go around. So, it's very important as a community we're very strategic with the limited resources we have," said Mueller. "They're people with lives that people care about. None of our friends or neighbors should have to sleep outside."