Rhonda, a Curbside vendor, holds the July 2024 issue of the street paper. This comic book-inspired issue invited 10 different Okie artists to produce 10 original comics based on stories from Curbside vendors.

Darren, shown with one of Curbside's holiday wreaths, is a longtime vendor and can usually be found screen printing at Curbside Apparel.

Nelson ended a bout of homelessness and invited me into his apartment. “Curbside definitely motivated me to get up, get the magazines and sell them,” he said. “That gives me a sense of purpose, and it makes me responsible because I never had a chance like this.”

Michael, a guest at the Willard Winter Shelter in 2021, shows his weather-worn hands during his stay in the temporary shelter in Oklahoma City. It was the first time he had sought shelter and did so because of the severity of the winter storm.

Tim Herbel, right, runs Not Your Average Joe, a regional coffee shop chain employing adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in customer-facing jobs. He talks with Danielle who is many things: cashier, cleaner, co-manager of the shop’s TikTok channel, public speaker, and “Miss Bossy,” according to herself and her coworkers. She was also born with Down Syndrome and has survived leukemia.

Bennie Joe Edwards, 60, was shot and killed by police on Dec. 11, 2020, after officers arrived at a northeast Oklahoma City store where Edwards had been accused of bothering customers. Candles, flowers and even cigarettes were placed near where he passed away.

Cycling saved John’s life. The Curbside vendor was in a deep funk for five years — a depressive episode that made leaving the couch feel impossible. “A bike is a tool that I need in my life to get through mental and physical challenges,” he said. “My health depends on this thing right here. I ride a bike every day. I don’t really ever want to own a car again. You won’t see me worrying about gas prices or traffic.”

Melvin was experiencing homelessness with his partner Alicia during the cold snap in January 2024. They allowed Curbside to visit their camp and showed how they build small fires to stay warm in inclement weather.

In McLoud, you’ll find the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, which houses as many as 1,200 individuals and a handful of dogs who are getting trained and readied for adoption. Curbside visited the prison to see how preparing pups for a second chance is giving their incarcerated trainers a new lease on life — like Carol who was working with Oliver.

When Marcus secured housing through a Curbside case manager, he was most excited to start cooking. His shelves were quickly lined with several spices and sauces, and he put them to use for a celebratory dinner.

In 2021, tattoo artist Ashley Viking starts work on a cover-up tattoo for Mike, who had gotten SS bolts on his arm while in prison. “I don’t agree at all with what that tattoo stands for,” he said. “I was taught about white supremacy as a kid, and I don’t agree with that now that I’m grown up. I also don’t agree with the fact that anybody should judge somebody else for the color of their skin. That ain’t right.”

Copies of the February 2025 edition of Curbside Chronicle sit near the register of Curbside Flowers.

More than 100 guests wait outside of the Homeless Alliance's winter shelter during a cold snap in January 2025. The shelter stays open from November through the end of March to help people experiencing homelessness avoid the bitter weather.

Sean has been experiencing homelessness for at least 12 years. He sits with his dog, Nala, in a gas station parking lot. “I wish people knew how hard I fight every day just to,” Sean paused to collect his thoughts, “... just to be part of the world.”

Greg Robinson, right, from Tulsa, hugs another supporter of Julius Jones after it was announced that Jones had been granted clemency by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Gary, a Curbside vendor, poses with his bike in 2023. “It’s good when I just want to get outside and blow off steam,” he said. “I feel the wind and the smoothness of the bike — it’s beautiful and reliable.”

Kelsey, a Curbside vendor, struggled with opioid use disorder for close to a decade before learning about medication-assisted treatment. “It just happened so fast for me. I went from being an energetic, outgoing person to somebody who was all about heroin,” she said. “It took away a big part of me.”

Sharon has no trouble telling her Italian Greyhounds apart. Cele — short for celebration — has a little scar on her left hip and a pink and black nose. Rags — a nod to the champion race horse Rags to Riches — has a tiny white spot on her neck and a totally black nose. A mother just knows these things. “To me, they’re family,” Sharon said. “Besides my sister, they’re the only family I have left. The past year has just been a roller coaster. I just don’t know how long I would’ve lasted without them.”

As Blanca sets baby Pablo into his carrier, arranging pastel trays of hot food in front of her hungry kids, she reflects on the help it took to get her family here. The 29-year-old mother of four is one of 600,000 Oklahomans supported by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) each month. “It’s everything to us,” she said. “Our kitchen is the heart of our home.”

On a January morning, snowfall covered Melvin and Alicia’s tree-wrapped campsite. Inside a few tents and tarps, sat nearly all of the couple’s belongings. They’d had terrible luck holding on to their possessions before the storm and worried about losing more to anyone who came across the camp. “Winter is a reality check,” Melvin said not long before sparking a small fire filled with nearby tree brush and trash. “Any time you face a hardship, whether it’ll be too hot or too cold, it’s a reminder of who you are.”

Born in Boley in 1931, James Beard Award winner Florence Jones Kemp has always been connected to the food she eats. As a child, she helped in kitchens and gardens, learning how to churn fresh butter, shuck corn and cook the family recipes passed down from her mother and grandmother. Growing up without much money, the family ate what they produced on the land as well as wild animals like rabbits. For an edition of Curbside Cookbook, Florence was joined by her daughter Victoria to cook fried rabbit and mashed potatoes.

Few programs at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center build as much human connection as the RISE Program, the state’s first and only cosmetology and barber program operating in a prison. Not only does it teach women valuable career skills and prepare them for life after prison but also it allows them to take their mind off being incarcerated.

If you’re driving on the road and see John Knorr with his daughter, Lily, then roll down your windows to hear them singing together. Their songs resemble classic nursery rhymes, but the lyrics are teaching Lily, age 2, how to watch for traffic, slow down and wait for an all-clear.

At a 2025 wedding, Danny worked alongside Eliza, a Curbside Flowers floral coach, on an arch that would encircle two soon-to-be newlyweds. When Danny started working at the flower shop, he was sleeping in his truck. Thanks to help from his Curbside case manager, he was housed. “It was like starting a new chapter and leaving the past behind,” he said.

Elia Woods is a co-founder of CommonWealth Urban Farms. This patchwork of urban farmland is tucked within Central Park neighborhood, just a short walk from the Paseo. Throughout a couple blocks of homes — with former residential lots and yards that are now dedicated to farming and composting — you’ll find rows, gardens, hoop houses and greenhouses tended to by a community of growers.

Trey Wherry is passionate about hair. He’s been working at and managing salons across OKC since he attended cosmetology school 16 years ago. His talent for doing hair naturally transferred to styling wigs, earning him loyal clients looking to snazz up their real and synthetic hair.

On a frosty day in December 2020, Curbside Flowers opened its doors to customers at its brick-and-mortar location. Since then, the full-service flower shop — staffed largely by people transitioning out of homelessness — has trained more than 180 individuals while also creating more than 63,000 hours of employment.

Gerry was dropped at the Homeless Alliance in a hospital gown, a fall-risk bracelet and little else besides his hospital discharge paper work. His wounds were very much in need of attention, but his stay at a nearby hospital was cut short even though homeless shelters are not equipped to help people recover from such severe injuries.

An infection in Walter’s left foot led to an amputation. And then another one. For years, this Curbside vendor made his way through life with one leg — at times homeless, relying on crutches or a wheelchair to get around. A prosthetic from one of the country’s most respected orthotics and prosthetics clinics has made a big impact on Walter’s life.

Have you ever seen an e-bike with a leaf blower booster? Now you have. Ed’s bike, named Warship, has storage room for his unique setup. He realized one day that the leaf blower made it easier to pedal up hills, but he reserves its use more often for landscaping purposes. Ed said his e-bike is crucial to his everyday life.

Shelly, a former Curbside vendor, loves her pets as if they were her own child. Her logic for that com-passion is simple. Dogs eat, breathe and sleep just like us. “They even have feelings,” she said. "The biggest difference between us is that they have four legs, and we have two.”

Plenty owner Brittney Matlock sits in the gift shop and wedding venue’s dressing room. She’s been running the business with her mother since 2012, but well before that Brittney faced an even bigger challenge. If you follow her on Instagram, then you’ve seen her discuss living with bipolar disorder and posting about the importance of mental health.

Ask Lon Mitchell what the star item is at Jo-Bawb’s Championship BBQ, and you will get a recommendation to try it all. “I don’t do bad barbecue. If I did anything bad it wouldn’t be on the menu,” Mitchell said. It’s hard to argue with the man, not that this surly native of Wyoming wouldn’t be up for it.

With help from her Curbside case manager, Tiffany secured her new place in May 2023. The walls were quickly covered with framed photos of her friends and family. Her dog quietly chewed on a tennis ball while she pointed out who was who: “I hang these photos because they’re something I can cherish — something I can hold onto forever.”

Most mornings, Amethyst sets a wake-up call on her phone for 5:30 a.m. But she has two more furry little alarms who’ll start nipping at her fingers to get their food delivered. Pantera and Emerald are littermates who were born at a rehab center. “Being a mother who was fresh into recovery, they’ve helped me,” she said. “I can just feel that they love me and it makes me feel better.”

Eating Matters is a regular food story in Curbside that documents what a normal diet looks like for clients who are both housed and unhoused.

Ameerah Gaines holds a megaphone while giving a speech to a small crowd at a rally outside of the Oklahoma City Police Department in downtown just hours after her uncle’s death. A march of roughly 150 participants took place shortly after she finished speaking on Dec. 11, 2021.

Wrap Up Homelessness is gift wrap that gives back. Every year, 10 local artists create 10 unique designs for Curbside vendors to sell around the holidays. All proceeds support Curbside’s mission to employ and empower people transitioning out of homelessness in OKC.

James and his dog, Cherokee, sit on the front porch of their home in 2022. He had been living in a tent for months in the backyard of a friend before securing a place to live with help from a Curbside case manager.

Miguel Rios, left, asks a man if he is willing to answer some questions during the 2023 Point in Time Count near downtown Oklahoma City. The homeless census aims to measure the number of people experiencing homelessness across the U.S.

© 2025 NATHAN POPPE