Tulsa's homeless shelters caught off guard by camp sweeps issued by the governor

Some places that work with Tulsa's homeless are expecting a lot more people to be looking for help following camp sweeps issued by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Staff at two shelters said there was not much time to prepare for the sweeps, and a lot of resources are already stretched thin.

It was also a surprise to the homeless population.

"I think they thought, maybe this is going to go away like other street sweeps go," said Steven Whitaker, CEO of the John 3:16 Mission. "It didn't go away."

Whitaker says the homeless did not have time to prepare, and the shelters didn't either. He says the issue is about more than just a place to sleep.

"I've always believed that to push people into recovery or into housing, whatever they're ready for, might require some pressure," said Whitaker. "But, doing it this way, abruptly, with no warning, without having created margin and some of those safe spaces, was abrupt and lacked justice."

Whitaker expects more of the homeless to be migrating around, and they need more resources. While he anticipates having to help more people, Whitaker said it is a small price to pay considering there are human lives at the center of what's going on.

"These are our neighbors, these are folks that are from our town," he said. "They're lost sons and daughters, and we need to provide a way for them to fight for their life back."

Staff at the Tulsa Day Center are anticipating a greater need to help homeless people get new IDs and other official paperwork.

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