Twelve people were transported to shelter on Monday during Oklahoma's latest round of encampment sweeps, marking the expansion of Governor Kevin Stitt's Operation SAFE to Oklahoma City.
The initiative, first launched in Tulsa in early September, has been touted by Stitt as a way to enforce the state's anti-camping law and prevent people experiencing homelessness from living on state-owned property like underpasses, highways and wooded areas along roads.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Mark Southall confirmed troopers' efforts Monday were part of a one-day operation, with plans to clear additional encampments later this week or early next week. He said at least ten more locations in the city have been identified.
Unlike during the first phase of the sweeps in Tulsa, the state is working with the city-led partnership, Key to Home, dedicated to addressing homelessness. Tulsa leaders had been critical of the operation because they weren't consulted in advance. Shelters reported there weren't enough spaces to accommodate people needing services.
In Oklahoma City, Southall said Key to Home will show up at the encampments first and offer services to people living outside. Then, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation will follow in their footsteps to clear out structures and supplies left behind.
"This collaboration with Key to Home has been great," Southall said. "It's been so relieving to see people take up the offer of assistance. At the end of the day, we want these people to get the help that they need, and we're seeing that here in Oklahoma City and we're thankful for that."
The state reported clearing 64 encampments in Tulsa over a two-week period. Southall said state troopers interacted with hundreds of people.
Only one person was transported to a shelter. The rest elected simply to leave state property.
When Stitt first launched Operation SAFE, he made clear those who wouldn't leave on their own would get a ride to jail. Southall said highway patrol troopers have not arrested anyone in Tulsa or Oklahoma City.
"If our goal was to arrest people, we would've already arrested hundreds, hundreds of people," he said. "We haven't made one single arrest in any of the operations."
Though 12 people were brought to shelters in Oklahoma City on Monday, Southall said not everyone they interacted with chose to go.
"The assistance is offered to everybody," he said. "We can't make people take assistance. All that they're required to do is to move off of state property and not camp there."
As part of its normal operations, Key to Home often helps house people living in encampments. Since the program began in 2023, it reports helping nearly 450 people move into housing.
In August, Key to Home housed 45 people living along General Pershing Blvd. Staff members spent several weeks building trust with people living outside while making sure they have resources ready to meet their needs.
"We know that clearing encampments without a housing solution doesn't solve homelessness," strategy and implementation manager Jamie Caves said in a press release at the time. "We're focused on what does — housing, case management, and long-term, sustainable solutions."
People who work with those experiencing homelessness say forced sweeps without housing solutions are traumatizing, destroy important belongings and do little to address the root causes of why someone might be living outside.
Southall said about half of the sites the state cleared in Tulsa "have become reoccupied."
Key to Home spokesperson Erika Warren said the organization got word that the state planned to bring Operation SAFE to Oklahoma City and reached out proactively to coordinate over the preceding weeks.
"We're just happy to be able to partner with the state so that we can both achieve our goals in both upholding the law, but also providing that dignified response for folks that are living outside," said Key to Home spokesperson Erika Warren.
Warren said the organization expects to talk with about 80 people living on state-owned land throughout the operation. She said the 50 partners that make up Key to Home are well-prepared to handle Operation SAFE's expedited timeline.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
