Hospitality House of Tulsa

The Hospitality House of Tulsa, 1135 S. Victor Ave., is one of the only faith-based, non-profit hospitality houses in the region. It allows families who have loved ones in nearby Tulsa hospitals to stay for up to two weeks at the house and only asks for a $1 to $10 donation each day. Most of the families spend the majority of their days in the hospitals and come back to their rooms in the evenings to relax and sleep. The house is similar to a hotel, and each room has a fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, bedroom with two twin beds, and a living room with a Murphy bed. Volunteers clean the sheets daily, make home-cooked meals in the welcome center’s kitchen for the guests, and offer to pray with those who want it.

I was fortunate enough to be able to meet and “shadow” Penny and her family for about three weeks. She was open and willing to let me take pictures despite all the stress she and her family were enduring at the time. Her dad was recovering from colon surgery at Hillcrest Hospital, and I was glad I was finally able to meet him in the last week.
Overall, I really enjoyed doing this assignment. At first, I was a little apprehensive about taking pictures because I was afraid I might intrude on people’s lives, but I gradually became more comfortable after meeting so many of them who were surprisingly open about my taking their pictures. All of the people I met were really nice and had interesting stories to tell. I plan to give these photos to the hospitality house and the families I photographed after this assignment is finished for their use.

Katie, a guest at the Hospitality House of Tulsa, passes by the door to the house’s welcome center on the way to her room.

A sign in front of the main building.

Stephanie (left), the weekend house manager, untangles Christmas lights in the welcome center while Toni (center), president and CEO, looks out the front door.

The house’s guests come from across the United States.

Penny (left), talks to Toni (center) and Carol (right), a volunteer, about her dad, who is in the hospital recovering from surgery, and the difficulties she’s recently faced.

Penny plays a video of her dad on her cell phone.

The house receives donations from numerous people, businesses, organizations and churches.

Many couples who come through the house have babies in the hospital, and some of the baby pictures find their way to the welcome center’s refrigerator door.

A couple carries their groceries from their car to their room.

Guests often write and leave behind their stories in the rooms’ guestbooks.

Gideon Bibles (the kind you find in hotels) are in all the rooms.

Katie, who has a “preemie” in the hospital, cleans and puts together breast pump equipment in the kitchen of her room.

Carol stands in one of the doorways of the newly renovated addition to the house.

Volunteers often make home-cooked meals for the guests.

Penny and her youngest daughter, Destiny, eat dinner in the welcome center before making a quick trip home.

Penny makes a call outside of the house.

Penny helps her dad into a wheelchair at the Kaiser Rehabilitation Center.

Penny writes in her room’s guestbook.