Employment and Housing Summit 2024

Ed Long
Vice President
Meta Fund
Oklahoma City, OK

Ariel Moore
Senior Director
OSU-OKC Center for Social Innovation
Oklahoma City, OK

This session will provide insight into the challenges and solutions identified by the Employment and Training Alliance of Central Oklahoma and OSU-OKC Center for Social Innovation in their efforts to support individuals in obtaining and maintaining meaningful employment. Presenters will share recent experiences from the field and seek input from participants regarding additional strategies and opportunities to collaborate.

Track: Employment

2. Work Is Recovery

Karla Jones
IPS Supervisor
Grand Lake Mental Health Center
Bartlesville, OK

Brandi Harris
Employment Specialist II
Grand Lake Mental Health Center
Bartlesville, OK

We will explore how people with a mental health diagnosis are often disenfranchised and cannot find the supports that allow them to have a purpose and be productive members of their community, impacting employment and education and their overall socio-economic outlook. IPS, is an evidence-based model that seeks to assist individuals interested in securing employment or in increasing their educational level by providing personalized services, which allows clients to function as people, not as patients.

Tracks: Working with a Diverse Population, Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders and Employment

Kendra Burkhalter
Behavioral Health and Wellness Coordinator
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Oklahoma City, OK

Bayley Rhoades

Behavioral Health and Wellness Coordinator
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Oklahoma City, OK

The first step in quality self-care is to learn what it is and understand its importance. So, if you’re participating in this workshop, congratulations! You’re already on your way. Self-care is the practice of asking yourself what you need – mentally, spiritually, or emotionally – and making sure you get it. It is not inherently indulgent or selfish; it is necessary. It’s your responsibility to take good care of yourself, and as we like to remind you, you deserve to feel better. Your takeaway from this workshop will be the ability to recognize the importance of self-care, and focus on 4 types of self-care: physical, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Tracks: Working with a Diverse Population and Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders

Self-Care Presentation (1.2MB PDF)

Kelly Berger
Director of Family Supports
Positive Tomorrows
Oklahoma City, OK

Stephanie Smiley
Lead Case Manager / Rehousing Specialist
Positives Tomorrows
Oklahoma City, OK

In this interactive workshop we will cover family homelessness, rapid rehousing, housing navigation, public-private-nonprofit collaborations, and client-driven solutions. We will address unique barriers, current interventions, and brainstorm new solutions. Hear stories and see slides about what has worked, then engage in an interactive activity to learn from each other. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to overcome homelessness while raising children.

Tracks: Housing, Youth, Working with Diverse Populations, Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders

Jimmy Fish
Executive Director
Oklahoma Building & Construction Trades Council
Oklahoma City, OK

This workshop will provide a detailed description of 10 construction trades through the US Department of Labor registered apprenticeship training programs including length of training, starting wage rates and location of programs. We will also discuss some of the benefits of apprenticeship training, such as working a full-time job with excellent wages and benefits while attending class nights and weekends.

Tracks: Youth and Employment

Paul Shinn
Sr. Policy Analyst
Oklahoma Policy Institute
Oklahoma City, OK

An overview will be provided of the programs and tax credits that help low-income Oklahomans work toward self-sufficiency. We will explore ideas for addressing the reluctance to seek assistance to which people are entitled and provide a demonstration of a tool that estimates the resources clients may gain from program participation. Participants will leave with a better understanding of our social insurance network and how to explain it in simple terms, in addition to how to use a tool that models assistance for any hypothetical (or real!) household.

Tracks: Employment, Housing, Youth, Working with Diverse Populations

Social Insurance in Oklahoma: Cliffs and Plateaus (610KB PDF)

Karen LaPlante
Director of Education
Mental Health Association Oklahoma
Tulsa, OK

Lucinda Morte
Mental Health Assistance Center Clinical Coordinator
Mental Health Association Oklahoma
Tulsa, OK

Question, Persuade and Refer - 3 simple steps anyone can take to help save a life from suicide. Often referred to as the mental health version of CPR, the QPR technique teaches how to recognize the warning signs, as well as how to open a conversation, offer hope, and connect people to help. Resources and strategies to help keep someone safe in a crisis, will also be shared. This evidence-based program is applicable in a variety of workplace and community settings.

Tracks: Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders, Housing, Youth, Employment and Working with Diverse Populations

Jamie Caves
Executive Director
Sisu Youth Services
Oklahoma City, OK

Hear about the practical first steps and lessons learned from opening OKC's first low barrier youth shelter that operated exclusively on donations and volunteers for the first years of operation. Attend this session for pro tips and lessons learned to help guide you in how to offer shelter in your local community.

Tracks: Housing, Youth, Working with Diverse Populations, Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders

Daniel Hahn
Regional Manager
Oxford House Incorporated
Ponca City, OK

Thomas Floyd
Senior Outreach Coordinator
Oxford House Incorporated
Ponca City, OK

This presentation will discuss a variety of topics related to Oxford House including history, need for more, who is a good fit and how to apply. Discussion topics will include our role in providing safe, affordable, housing to those suffering from substance abuse, homelessness, and lack of employment. We will also talk about our role in fighting the opioid/stimulant epidemic.

Tracks: Employment and Working with Diverse Populations

Rachelle Eskridge
YWCA
Oklahoma City, OK

Andru Dallaly
Program Director
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Oklahoma City, OK

The word “adultism” refers to behaviors and attitudes based on the assumption that adults are better than young people and acting upon youth without their agreement. Participants will learn to recognize interactions that could be interpreted as adultism and practice how to reframe the situation. In addition, we will discuss how adultism can impact the development of positive youth-adult relationships in the homeless community and how systematic mistreatment of young people is relatively new and has not been widely accepted as a reality.

Tracks: Youth, Working with Diverse Populations, Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders

Lisa Toth
Founder and CEO
Rise Staffing
Sand Springs, OK

Lisa DeBolt
Regional Coordinator
OU Sooner SUCCESS
Oklahoma City, OK

Participants will leave this workshop empowered and realize employment is available to anyone who wants to work, if they have the proper supports. We will explore how Chandler directed his vocational supports to find him his dream job. Participants will learn how they can recreate Chandler’s success for themselves and their loved ones.

Tracks: Employment and Working with Diverse Populations

Fatos Floyd
DRS Business Services Coordinator
Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services
Tulsa, OK

Sharon Harrison
Workforce Director
Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance
Tulsa, OK

Individuals face many barriers to employment. In our desire to serve individuals by creating meaningful and fulfilling career opportunities the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance (OMA) and DRS’s BIS division came together to see how they could partner to create viable career pathways. In this practical session Fatos Floyd, Business Services Coordinator from DRS and Sharon Harrison, the Workforce Director for the OMA, will share with ways to form partnerships with the industry, identifying opportunities, and creating employment opportunities that meet client and industry needs.

Track: Employment, Working with Diverse Populations and Working with Clients with Serious Mental Illness and/or Substance Use Disorders

Amanda Aunko
Housing Navigator
National Resource Center for Youth Services
Tulsa, OK

Join OKSA's housing navigator to explore various housing pathways for transitioned-aged young adults while focusing on the type of environment, level of support, willingness to meet goals, and resources the young person will need to succeed in various housing pathways.

Track: Housing

Norman Markland
Independent Team Leader
Pivot
Oklahoma City, OK

Karen Martinez
Youth Engagement Specialist
Pivot
Oklahoma City, OK

This will be an interactive workshop that will explore the importance of building permanent connections and a community for disconnected youth. As providers, we know the importance of building healthy engaging relationships with the youth we serve, but often youth who experience trauma, are relegated to their environments and general cycles that perpetuate a life of homelessness, incarceration, and substance use. This workshop will assist in increasing client's connections.

Track: Youth

"The Connect" Presentation (5.0MB PDF)

Heidi Walter
Manager of Training and Program Implementation
A Way Home - Canada
Calgary, AB

Adapted from the standard Housing First model because young people have different needs than adults, Housing First for Youth (HF4Y) is a rights-based intervention for young people who experience homelessness, or who are at risk. The goal is to help prevent homelessness or help youth to quickly exit homelessness. HF4Y is designed to address the needs of developing adolescents and young adults by providing them with immediate access to housing that is safe, affordable and appropriate, as well as, the necessary and age-appropriate supports that focus on health, wellbeing, life skills, engagement in education and employment, and social inclusion. Learn how your housing, shelter, or case management program can adapt to the HF4Y principals for improved outcomes and client satisfaction.

Track: Housing, Working with Diverse Populations, Youth