You hear this phrase a lot: break the cycle. It has become part of the lexicon, a phrase we toss around loosely in relation to a great many things. In doing so, we’ve made it commonplace, and its meaning has become muddled. What does it really mean to break the cycle? How does that work, and who does the work?
Diversion Hub, near NW 10th Street and N. Robinson Avenue, is doing the work. Founded in 2020 by Sue Ann Arnall, the organization serves individuals and families impacted by the criminal justice system in Oklahoma, Cleveland and Canadian counties. At its temporary Midtown location, it offers wraparound services to help people exit the system and find pathways to stability.
Its mission statement is clear, if complex: connecting justice-involved individuals to life-stabilizing resources and services to help them become safe, stable and self-sufficient, thereby reducing their encounters with the criminal legal system.
That’s a mouthful, so it’s important to unpack what that really means.
One of the organization’s key objectives is to reduce recidivism within the criminal legal system and, in doing so, address the underlying issues that may have led to legal involvement in the first place. The how is as important as the what. A culture of compassion provides a judgment-free space to address these concerns in a productive and restorative way.
When clients arrive at Diversion Hub, they may be just out of the Oklahoma County Jail or recently released from an Oklahoma Department of Corrections facility. They may be facing serious charges, or they may be trying to avoid getting into trouble again.
“Our neighbors in the community that are reintegrating from jail often have significant barriers that keep them from the fresh start they seek,” Diversion Hub executive director Meagan Taylor said. “That’s where we come in.”
Upon release, these individuals may not have any reliable support system. For some, reconnecting with their network may be tantamount to stepping back into the life that got them in trouble in the first place. Even if they do have close family or friends to turn to, that doesn’t mean those people have the resources, knowledge or wherewithal to help them maneuver the convoluted criminal justice system. Not knowing how to navigate the system is dangerous and, simultaneously, not an excuse.
Enter Diversion Hub.
From the time clients arrive, it’s as if Maslow himself were steering the ship. Needs are met in order of a hierarchy: first water and food, hygiene and clothing, SNAP benefits and figuring out housing. For the first time in what is perhaps a long time, everyone is friendly, approachable and nonjudgmental.
Many clients don’t even have an ID, which is obviously a crucial part of reentry into society. Diversion Hub has people, a plan and contacts to solve this and so many other issues. Suddenly the insurmountable is reduced to a manageable to-do list of individual tasks.
An intake assessment is performed, and that information is used to create a road map for the staff to help the client. Once the road map is ready, a wide array of programs and initiatives is put to work:
Justice navigators help clients meet court requirements and disentangle from the criminal legal system.
Case managers work with clients to create comprehensive case plans and access the services they need to succeed.
Recovery navigators boost the success of Treatment Court participants through peer services and support.
Employment navigators prepare clients to find and maintain meaningful work and build essential career skills.
The facility truly is a hub. By co-locating community partners on-site, barriers to accessing additional services are significantly lowered. Many partners have staff embedded on-site, and connection to services is often seamless, which makes a big difference when you don’t have transportation.
Beyond physical logistics, the approach to providing services and advocacy is just as important. Staff members work to build supportive relationships on a foundation of equity. Diversion Hub uses a voluntary model rather than a punitive one. It’s based on the belief that sustainable, long-term change is only possible through internal motivation. A strengths-based case management model empowers clients to address their individual needs and aspirations.
The results are nothing short of staggering. Diversion Hub’s 2024 Impact Report provides a wealth of information, but here are some statistics from their Justice Navigator Program:
- Clients served: 3,259
- Clients not arrested in Oklahoma County for any new charges before program closure: 97%
- Clients who appeared at all court dates and avoided a failure-to-appear warrant before program closure: 96%
- Pretrial clients who did not receive a prison or jail sentence while active: 97%
- Probation clients who were compliant with the program at closure: 89%
Even if you’re not necessarily concerned with the well-being of a recently released justice-involved individual, the inner workings of the criminal justice system or the endemic failure of carceral rehabilitation, you might care about your own personal safety and that of your loved ones.
It’s hard for many of us to imagine the helplessness and hopelessness someone can feel in the carceral system. When someone feels hopeless, the jump to “nothing to lose” is scarily fast. That mentality can lead to a lot of outcomes, and none of them are good.
From a fiscal standpoint, it simply costs taxpayers more to keep someone in a cycle of endless incarceration. It’s a major expense that is not in the best interests of any person or any civic advancement.
The Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) recently crunched the numbers: State Question 780, which reclassified simple drug possession and low-level property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, averted 1,178,260 days served in incarceration in fiscal year 2022, saving Oklahoma taxpayers $19,912,594.
But perhaps the most important break in the cycle is the one from one generation to the next. A mother or father leaves custody and is lucky enough to land with Diversion Hub. They find housing, food security, employment or assistance. If the client does their part, a painful past can be left behind, allowing a parent to be present in their child’s life.
That child will grow up and choose a path. Even a parent with a criminal and chaotic past can become a parent with an important purpose in the life of their child.
There’s another saying that’s been bandied about lately: When you know better, you do better. That’s the hope, at least. Thanks to unprecedented access to data and the ability to analyze it, the Diversion Hub team can do better. A people-first, trauma-informed, voluntary approach empowers clients to overcome struggle and break the cycle. Even intergenerational cycles can be broken by this approach.
Oklahoma City is lucky to have Diversion Hub. The city is safer and stronger because of this work. It turns out when you take the most maligned community, serve them as you would any vulnerable population, add a fiercely committed funder and pair that with a brilliant executive director leading an indefatigable team, you really can blaze a trail toward a better future for all of us.
Visit diversionhub.org.
This article appears in deadCenter Film Festival 2025.