Hallie Green: A Good Person Helping Tulsa's Homeless

By Jintae Hwang

Good people make the world go around. Hallie Green is one of them. She works at Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, located north of downtown. I met her to learn about her job and how she does it.

When I entered her office, I recognized one of her frames on the wall. It says, "There is no such thing as small change." That statement gave me an idea of what type of person she might be.

She explained things with smile. She wanted to be here for a good reason—for a positive influence. The Tulsa Day Center was a familiar place to her. As a native of Claremore, she volunteered for years at the Day Center.

“I volunteered with the Day Center when I was in high school,” she said.

She started her career in politics as a fundraiser in Chicago. She had some stops before coming to the Day Center.

“It took me a while to get here,” she said.

She came back to help people and make changes. Obviously, she enjoys her work.

“This is an organization that I have always liked so I knew I wanted to be here,” Green said.

Although her main task is to raise money, she does a lot of things to accomplish it- sending out grants, plan events, talk to corporations and foundations, and so on.

She does extra work too. She goes to New Orleans every summer to help construct houses that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Her office showed her personality with pictures and art. The bulletin board, especially, displayed her interests. I could sense the positive energy on that board.

One of her pictures was a pigeon sitting on top of an old man's head.

"His name is Homer," Green said.

She explained that Homer was a good friend for homeless people for three years. If Homer could be a friend to people who need help, we can all do something. Green is doing just that.

"I knew I would do something with helping," she said.

For more information about the Tulsa Day Center, click here.

Jintae Hwang is a senior communication student from Korea. Before moving to Tulsa, he lived in Los Angeles.