Tulsa Authorities Clear Homeless Encampment

The City of Tulsa coordinated the start of a cleanup on a large homeless encampment behind Lowe’s at 71st and Highway 169.

Police estimated 35 people were living there until social service agencies started alerting people a cleanup was coming.

When officers arrived Wednesday, accompanied by a full range of City service providers, only a couple of people were still there.

“The best way to handle the problem is to engage the individuals and give them hope and bring along the services they've otherwise been avoiding,” Tulsa Police Captain Shane Tuel said.

The 40-acre wooded site has more than a dozen campsites, and acres of it are covered in trash. Officers estimated there were hundreds of shopping carts on the site, all stolen from nearby businesses.

Tulsa Police said nearby businesses complained about theft and they found plenty of examples of stolen merchandise in the campsites. Several had recently burned.

Mental Health providers were on-site to offer help to anyone who wanted it. Scott Whitefield, with Grand Mental Health, said the people in the camp appeared to be no different than other homeless people in Tulsa.

“About a third of it is addiction, a third of it is mental health, and another third is just a misfortune and bad luck,” he said.

The city plans to clean the site, and half of it will eventually be a city-owned park. The other half is privately owned.