Tulsa's homeless concerns

Media outlets across the country have picked up a wire story that says some Tulsans are lashing out against the homeless. And that's put the city's reputation on the line. <br/><br/>The Associated

Thursday, August 19th 2004, 6:04 am

By: News On 6

Media outlets across the country have picked up a wire story that says some Tulsans are lashing out against the homeless. And that's put the city's reputation on the line.

The Associated Press story says some homeless people face a loosely organized campaign against them. It stems from the death of a downtown bar owner who was killed by a homeless man.

Newspapers and television news outlets across the country picked up the story. Some added there's a war on the homeless in Tulsa.

Those who work with the homeless say there is a big nationwide misunderstanding. Steve Whitaker with the John 3:16 Mission: â€œThe idea may be that we have a vigilante thing going on and that the idea is that Tulsans are cowboys anyway and they may think well be beating up on homeless people on a regular basis and thatâ€™s not happening.â€

Homeless advocates say there were some flared tempers in the days after the fatal fight. But in the month and a half since, there haven't been any problems.