With the surmounting challenges facing our criminal justice system, we need effective public-private partnerships to change trajectories in Oklahoma County. As one of Boeing Global Engagement’s newest partners, Diversion Hub continues to expand its reach, prevent incarceration and provide the wraparound services necessary to help more residents thrive.
When Marcy heard from a cellmate about a place that could help get her life together, she didn’t believe it. She was used to people telling her no.
She walked out of the Oklahoma County jail to find a green-logoed shuttle waiting to take her to Diversion Hub on NW 10 and Robinson Avenue. Fifteen minutes later, she sat in a private appointment room, eating a hot meal and talking to a case manager about the shape of her future.
That case manager is Dale Edwards, a 30-year veteran social worker and Oklahoma City native whose joy comes from helping clients find their own happiness. Selflessness runs in Dale’s genes; his mother had a successful career in social work, as well.
Dale is able to help Marcy and others like her with the support of a Boeing Global Engagement grant. As Diversion Hub grows, partners like Boeing help us interrupt the cycle of incarceration. At the heart of this work is economic mobility, a trajectory enabled by the dedication of frontline social workers.
Economic mobility starts when a case manager like Dale welcomes a client without judgment. Dale helps vulnerable Oklahomans gain the momentum they need for change. This momentum is profoundly difficult to achieve without help. A person lacking a stable income or identification documents, entangled in criminal legal trouble and bombarded by sanctions, is set up to fail. Now, and again, and again.
Diversion Hub serves over 2,000 clients annually, many of whom, like Marcy, need long-term help to overcome chronic problems. Some of these problems are intergenerational poverty and systemic racism, which trap people in a cycle of incarceration and degrade economic mobility.
Diversion Hub says yes. We’re proud to partner with others to help our clients transform their lives.
Meagan Taylor, a lifelong advocate for criminal justice reform, serves as executive director of the Oklahoma County Diversion Hub.
April 1, 2024
