Chris Taylor is a Cherokee citizen born in Tahlequah Ok. He is a direct descendant of family members that walked the Trail of Tears. Chris lived in Tulsa until his family moved to Canadian Texas. The First Christian Church in Canadian was blessed with several VERY wealthy families and the church purchased a 400 Acre Ranch and sponsored a Cooksin Hills Christian Ranch outside of town. Chris’s parents were one of the two sets of “substitute” house parents that would fill in when the main house parents had to be away. Chris started spending time with these kids that had been placed out of their homes in the 8th grade and that inspired him to study the importance of familial connections and the impacts of generational trauma. When Chris graduated High School he attended NSU from 79 to 83 as a Scholarship Debater. Following his graduation in ’83, he spent one year as a Graduate Assistant to the Dean of Student affairs Dr. Lena Belle Rotton. The mentee relationship he developed with Dean Rotton lasted until her death. He left Tahlequah to work for John White (the first Black Houston Oiler NFL player) at P.U.L.L. For Youth in Houston Texas where he spent 3 years working in the 3rd and 5th wards with inner city kids many of which lived on the streets. This mentee relationship lasted until his death. After returning to Tulsa, he started American Youth Initiatives working with children in and out of state custody and started a family that included 19 foster children and three biological children. In the early ‘90’s he worked for Youth Services of Tulsa integrating kids coming in from the new SafePlace Program back into their homes or into independent Living. He was able to work for and enjoy a mentorship with Roger Ruth (Oasis Clinical Director) that has lasted until the present time. He also operated a Specialized Community Home for The Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) where he transitioned state custody juveniles out of the Lloyd Rader juvenile treatment program into adulthood and independent living. In the early 2000s he was able to work and form a mentee relationship with Lemuel Taylor, TPD Chaplain, as a spiritual mentor. In 2016 with the help of 2 other NSU grads, he started Therapeutic Life Choices Tohi Usti Gunvnv Edasdi, LLC. TLC is an ODMHSAS certified outpatient mental health program. TLC has grown to 70+ clinicians and over 1400 clients. TLC has received back-to-back 3 year Certification with Distinction, scoring three perfect scores in their June 2023 audit. Currently Chris’ obedience to the Creator has lead to the development of The Oasis Ascension Program. It is the first medically assisted, trauma specific, curriculum driven transitional living program for people experiencing homelessness. The 48000 sq ft venue on Guthrie in Downtown Tulsa will have Tulsa’s first no barrier shelter for this population. TLC partnering with the non-profit Medcross.org has developed a prototype camera van with facial recognition software capable of providing real-time data to assist in de-escalation during mental health crisis situations. TCSO has bridged the gap that has existed between Mental Health Agencies and Law Enforcement by partnering with this program to reach some of the chronic mentally ill that repeatedly visit the jail. Chris volunteers as a Chaplain with the Tulsa Police Department where he does death notifications for those that die on the streets of Tulsa.