The City Lights Foundation was founded in 2013 by Sarah Grounds, who told KRMG she was inspired by the support she received while overcoming a personal health struggle.

You might recognize the work they’ve been doing for more than a decade in downtown Tulsa called Night Light Tulsa. Volunteers serve meals to the homeless community every Thursday night under the overpass at Maybelle Avenue and Reconciliation Way.

The foundation later launched a housing stability program to help people connect with other resources, make medical appointments and find addiction services.

Now, City Lights is working toward opening a community village where people coming out of chronic homelessness can live, work and find other resources.

Grounds told KRMG she started researching the idea in 2018 and found other villages across the country. She said the Community First Village in Austin, Texas is, in her view, the “gold standard” at the moment.

She said City Lights began fundraising about two years ago and said they’ve made great progress.

“This is a $26.1 million campaign.” Grounds said. “We have raised just over $19.1 million and that incredible, so we have just over $7 million to go.”

City Lights Village will include 75 homes on 23 acres of donated land off of 46th Street North between Lewis and Peoria.

“It has a community center that will hold all of our offices, but also huddle rooms for partner agencies to be able to come in and work with neighbors that are living there.” Grounds said. “We’ll have a medical room, gardens, storm shelters - because that’s always a concern in Oklahoma - and laundry facilities.

Grounds said tenants will have to have at least one disability to qualify and said they can use that money to help pay the rent, which will be $400 per month.

On-site jobs will be available for residents to earn money, she said.

Thirty of the 75 homes are currently under construction. Grounds said they hope to have City Lights Village open by next summer.

Listen to our full interview below for more information.