Crews use a front loader to clean up a former homeless camp on state property in Tulsa. (Screenshot of Operation SAFE video footage)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt said he’s expanding an effort to remove homeless camps located on state property to Oklahoma City.
“Leaving people on the streets isn’t compassion,” Stitt said on social media. “The state is doing its job by cleaning up state property and protecting families.”
The action comes after a September effort in Tulsa, involving the Highway Patrol and the Department of Transportation, that cleared 64 locations and disposed of two million pounds of debris as part of Operation Swift Action for Families Everywhere.
Homeless people were offered rides to treatment or housing facilities or a trip to jail if they refused to vacate.
No arrests were made.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols called the project a “manufactured” crisis, noting that Stitt did not consult with him.
After the Tulsa operation, business leaders and stakeholders requested that it be done in Oklahoma City, Stitt said.
Stitt said leaders are working with Key to Home, an Oklahoma City-based organization that works to connect people to services and housing.
“The governor just put on this political show in Tulsa and there is no evidence that it actually solved any real problems,” said Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City. “We all want the same thing – to reduce homelessness and make our communities safer. But these short-sighted solutions do nothing but waste taxpayer dollars.”
Affordable housing, access to community-based mental health services and a living wage are the answer, she said.
“Until those issues are addressed, nothing will really change,” Kirt said.
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