Pivot and Oklahoma Human Services to open 15 more tiny homes for young people
OKLAHOMA CITY (July 2, 2024) – Pivot, A Turning Point for Youth, is set to open the next phase of 15 Tiny Homes designed to help youth facing housing instability after aging out of foster care in Oklahoma City. Pivot and Oklahoma Human Services will host a come-and-go open house to celebrate the tiny homes and a newly built community center from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, July 12 at Pivot, 201 NE 50th Street in Oklahoma City. The public and media are welcome to tour the tiny homes and learn more about Pivot's mission.
"No matter the situation a young person finds themselves in, Pivot is here to support them during times of transition and to help them gain experiences needed to become self-reliant adults," said President and CEO, Jennifer Goodrich. “All young people have talents, skills and dreams, and we are always looking for how we can bring hope to those dreams.”
Pivot broke ground on the first tiny homes in 2018 through a grant from Impact Oklahoma. The second phase of three tiny homes were designed and built by QUAD Construction (formerly Smith & Pickel). The previous phase of 20 were built by Universal Development Enterprise (UDE) through a Federal Housing Trust Fund Grant from Oklahoma Housing & Finance Authority. In August 2023, Pivot opened its laundry facility and Tiny Home staff office space, sponsored by Gary and Diane Rumsey.
These 15 new tiny homes, along with a new community center, were made possible through a grant from Oklahoma Human Services focused on sheltering youth who aged out of the foster care system.
“We are incredibly excited about our newest partnership with Pivot and the opportunity to find additional ways to meet the housing needs of young people who are leaving the foster care system,” said Dr. Deborah Shropshire, Director of Oklahoma Human Services. “The tiny homes and community center will give young people much needed stability and support while they work with our Oklahoma Successful Adulthood Program to implement longer-term housing plans and design their own future. We are grateful for the many ways the community has embraced foster care and for the additional pathways this partnership will create for the young people we serve.”
Various local designers and groups helped decorate and furnish the homes.
"We are grateful that so many people see the value in this project and the impact it can have on the young people and our community as a whole," said Goodrich.
The open house is a celebration of months of construction and preparing the homes to be ready for young people to move in and will be held from 3 to 6 p.m., Friday, July 12 at the Pivot campus, 201 NE 50th Street in Oklahoma City.
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