12 minute read
Citizen Spotlight: Rob Watkins
Rob Watkins
AFTER EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, ROB WATKINS FOUND A WAY TO CONNECT THOSE STILL STRUGGLING WITH THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO SURVIVE LIFE ON THE STREETS.
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By Berlin Green
Helping doesn’t have to be complicated—sometimes the simplest of actions can have a substantial impact.
Rob Watkins knows what it’s like to be on the street and how quickly a change in circumstances can land someone there.
Rob found himself homeless in Oklahoma City after a difficult divorce was followed by the false promise of work in Dallas. It was the Homeless Alliance themselves that helped Rob get back on his feet. He worked as a Curbside Chronicle vendor before securing housing and loved the organization so much that they created a position for him. He now serves as a referral specialist at the Homeless Alliance. In his free time, Watkins started a Facebook group to help connect those struggling with homelessness find the resources they need often simply to survive.
“I got here in July 2014 and was on the street and eventually got a job as a vendor with the Curbside Chronicle,” Watkins said. “I got housing in 2019, so I made the OKC Homeless Resource Group as a way to give back to the community that has given so much to me. Because one thing I found when I was homeless is there are a lot of resources here in the city, but a lot of people don’t know about them. So then they go away because nobody’s using them, and they aren’t using them because nobody knew about them. I just made this page as a way to help people network and get what they need.”
It didn’t take long for the group to build a substantial following. Since its inception, nearly 3,000 have joined. Watkins has made connections with city and state agencies, council people and many of the grassroots organizations that work with the homeless in the metro area, allowing him to direct those in need to their services.
“People make Facebook pages for all kinds of silly stuff. I thought this would be something that would be beneficial to anybody because the main focus is homeless people and those in need. If someone wants to know when they’re doing free meals or when the buses are free, they can find it there. And it’s really grown. There’s almost 3,000 people that follow the group now. And they’re not all homeless people. There’s people from the city government, churches, people that work at DHS. What’s been great is times like when somebody has a question about food stamps or services, not all the time, but sometimes people from DHS or from Oklahoma housing or whatever will interact with these people. They’ll tell them, ‘Hey, if you have a question about your food stamps, here’s my name, here’s my number, call me,’ and that’s been really helpful, especially when people are looking for housing. We’ve got people that own properties and reach out and say, ‘Hey, I’m a landlord. Call me.’ And that was kind of always my goal, I never wanted it to be about me. I want it to be a community thing, for people who need it.”
The feedback Watkins receives continues to fuel him and give him some purpose.
“I have a lot of people that tell me, ‘Your page is really important, because people can go on there and get connected with exactly what they need’ and that’s how I wanted it to be,” Watkins said. “I talked to Jared Shadid who is over the homeless planning for all of Oklahoma City. He added me to their email list so that I can tell people when the shelters are going to be open. Because 3,000 people is no joke. There are people from all kinds of agencies, so the people at the city level are starting to see the value. I never would have thought a city or government agency would follow me. I was just trying to create a central hub for homeless people. Because of the way it’s grown, if you’re new to the city or if you’re new to homelessness, you can just go there—it’s kind of a one stop shop. Someone is going to try to help. You’ll know when the buses are free. You’ll know when people are giving away clothes, who’s having a free meal, where and when. People are always sharing and posting stuff on there. I talk to people almost every day, especially when the cold weather rolls in. The shelters are going to be
Rob Watkins. | Photo by Berlin Green open, people will be out with food, coats and sleeping bags and other resources and people need to know about them.” More than just resources, the group allows Watkins and others to help families keep tabs on members living in homelessness, giving them peace of mind that their loved one is okay, despite the often very complicated and unfortunate circumstances. “When I was on the street, parents would find out that I was friends with their kids and they would reach out to me and be like, ‘I just want to thank you for looking out for my son or my daughter’ or whatever. And about a month ago, I had a lady call looking for her son. Now her son is like, 35, but you would think he was 15 the way she was talking about him. But I was able to tell her, ‘Your son is doing fine. I saw him two days ago at the bus terminal. He came over to me, we talked and he hugged me and he’s doing okay,’ which helped her because she’s been legitimately worried about him because she hasn’t seen him in six months. So it’s good that I can have those relationships with people, if their parents or family call I can let them know what’s going on,” he said. Rob attends monthly meetings focused on homeless issues and works with city leaders to bring focus to the needs of the homeless community whenever possible. When looking towards the future, Watkins sees instability in social media, so he’s working on a website solely dedicated to the cause.
“With things like the layoffs, you don’t know what’s going on with Facebook from one day to the next, so I’m working on a website,” Watkins said. “It’s called OKCStreetSheet. com. I chose the name because it doesn’t reference homelessness, it doesn’t reference anything, so there’s no stigma attached. I haven’t really done a whole lot with it yet, but it’s there because eventually I’d kind of like to migrate off of Facebook. People need a way to share information. There needs to be an easy to access central hub where people in the community can know about what’s happening on the streets, where the feedings are and where to get clothes and when housing or jobs become available.”
Rob’s actions show that helping doesn’t have to cost anything, just a bit of time. Simply taking action and doing what you can, when you can, that can create exponential reach.
To connect with Rob and the OKC Homeless Resource Group visit their Facebook page.
COMMENTARY Thank you, poll workers
THIS ELECTION SEASON, A TIP OF THE HAT IS IN ORDER TO ALL WHO DEDICATE THEIR TIME MAKING SURE OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS CONTINUES.
By Robin Meyers
On the Friday before election day, I returned to my favorite place to vote, the Oklahoma County Election Board headquarters on Lincoln Boulevard. It conjured memories of standing in a long line with an ebullient crowd in 2008 to vote for Barack Obama. I was certain that the world was about to change, and that we would become a better country. Today I learned that a survey revealed that 88 percent of Americans fear political violence during this election and in the days that follow. Political violence? Are we talking about Venezuela? Brazil? Belarus? What happens if close election results are not accepted by election deniers? What if American democracy grinds to a halt under the weight of conspiracy theories spread by those with no regard for the truth? What if half of us won’t agree to lose?
I remember John McCain’s gracious concession speech to President-elect Obama, even when some of his followers booed the idea of wishing him well. Repeatedly he stopped them, as if to say, No. This is not what we do. This is not who we are. Mr. Obama is our president now, and America’s strength and genius can only endure through the peaceful transfer of power. McCain let it be known that it was an historic election and that he was aware of how much it must mean to African Americans so long denied a seat at the table. Now all of us must do everything we can, he said, to make our new president, and America, successful.
Go to YouTube and watch that speech. It’s just a few minutes long. It will remind you what virtue looks like. Remember virtue? Remember grace?
On the day I voted, the atmosphere was different, with more police officers and more poll workers who looked nervous but resolute. They greeted everyone warmly, instructed us on how to retrieve our ballots, and then thanked each one of us as we left. I picked up my favorite accessory of all time, the “I VOTED” sticker, and wore it for days. It would be hard to overstate the debt we owe to those who work at the polls. Many are volunteers, many are elderly and, unfortunately, many have left their jobs over concern for their own safety.
When a tornado tore through Idabel that same day and destroyed Trinity Baptist Church, the only polling place, it was moved by emergency decree to the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church across town because, well, this is America. The poll workers in Idabel packed up and moved their voter rolls, ballots, pencils and, of course, those iconic stickers as if there was nothing to it. Idabel took a direct hit. Democracy did not.
Standing inside that polling place on Lincoln Boulevard, I looked around the room and studied the faces of my neighbors: young, old, able, disabled, black, white, brown, straight, gay, rich, poor—you name it. Republicans and Democrats voting straight tickets. Independents making their independent choices. People trying to figure out who the judges were and whether they should be retained. Grandmothers smiling as they carefully fed their completed ballots into the scanning machines. There. Done. Now we’ll see if “We the People” can long endure. There. Done. Now I go home back to work or go home, knowing that I have done what I can, where I am, with what I have.
None of this is possible without poll workers. What we should all do when we vote is to thank them, tell them how much we appreciate their service to our country. Put up a parking sign at Lowe’s that says, “RESERVED FOR POLL WORKERS.” Because, across all our differences, we know that nothing is more important than making our voices heard, even if we lose. Perhaps especially when we lose. Indeed, there was a strange and palpable joy that day as people
The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers. | Photo provided
performed a simple but revolutionary act. As if they knew that it was the one thing that could not be taken away from them, especially from the poor, although we have tried, and we are still trying. Watching people from every walk of life mark a ballot and leave it behind to be counted—trusting those who count it because they have proven again and again to be trustworthy—this is the most powerful political act of all. This is our thunderous retort to the Divine Right of Kings. This is the exclamation mark for women so long denied the right to vote. This is part of Dr. King’s Dream, yet to be fully realized.
This ritual, so easy to take for granted, is all that stands between all of us and a world full of authoritarian egomaniacs. We do not serve them. They serve us. Full stop.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, poll workers. Our deep gratitude goes out to you—the amazing women and men who get up, make the coffee, bring the donuts, patiently explain how to vote, and then stay late to clean up. Because of you, we still have a democracy.
Shame, shame, shame, everlasting shame on those who have made them afraid to report for duty. Our prayer is that you will not destroy what so many have worked so long and hard to build and so many have died to defend. Go ahead, sing it…
My country ‘tis of thee Sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing Land where my fathers died Land of the pilgrims’ pride From every mountainside Let freedom ring
The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers is pastor of First Congregational Church UCC in Norman and retired senior minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC in Oklahoma City. He is currently Professor of Public Speaking, and Distinguished Professor of Social Justice Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Oklahoma City University, and the author of eight books on religion and American culture, the most recent of which is, Saving God from Religion: A Minister’s Search for Faith in a Skeptical Age.
Visit robinmeyers.com
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