Homelessness is a growing problem in Tulsa and the situation will become more serious – even deadly – as fall and winter approach.

That’s what the Rev. Steve Whitaker, senior pastor and CEO of John 3:16 Mission, said in an interview on Tulsa Beacon Weekend on KCFO AM970 about homelessness becoming more complicated.

There is an increase in what Whitaker calls “the unsheltered” and they are all over Tulsa. These are people who decided not to seek shelter but stay outside.

“There are a large number of those,” Whitaker said.

Part of that is due to the giving nature of Tulsa, where people are generous.

“We over-share food and assets with people that are experiencing homelessness instead of encouraging them to, if they can, put their problems behind them. John 3:16 runs a large aggressive outreach team,” he said.

If the homeless are in an encampment where they can be seen, they are approached by a mission outreach team a few times each week.

Whitaker says they try to be hospitable and see if they can persuade them to come in to get help. This is especially important when the weather is very hot or very cold. They ask what kind of help they need – especially if they need healthcare.

In August, John 3:16 Mission served 12,849 meals, provided shelter to 4,238 people and handed out 411 food baskets. Estimates are that there are at least 200,000 homeless people in  Los Angeles with similar number in other large American cities.

“This is the worst I have ever seen in my 32 years I have worked with the homeless,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker there are people who are “experiencing homelessness” and who want to get back into a home and then are “street people” who like the lifestyle of being on the street.

Due to the growing numbers, some of the charities in Tulsa have had to reduce their services to the homeless. And there is some coronavirus infection along the Archer Avenue corridor, Whitaker said. He estimates that there are 2,000-2,300 homeless in Tulsa, including those in shelters and those outside (including people sleeping in their cars).

“We are trying to accommodate as many people as we possibly can,” he said. “And some of those people who are out on the streets.”

Whitaker said there have been discussions of the impending influx of refugees from Afghanistan, particularly since Tulsa housing market and rental market is so tight. The estimate is that Tulsa will get 800-900 refugees with Oklahoma getting 1,800 – third behind only California and Texas.

Beacon staff photo

A homeless camp under a bridge in Downtown Tulsa houses some unsheltered homeless. The Rev. Steve Whitaker, senior pastor of John 3:16 Mission, said the homeless situation in Tulsa is growing and that the influx of Afghan refugees will make a housing market even tighter for poor people.

“They are going to be competing with the homeless for the exact same housing,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker has 70-80 fully qualified, fully vetted people on a list that are already waiting for housing to open up.

John 3:16 Mission so far has enough resources to keep up the growing needs, Whitaker said. Part of that is due to the mission planning ahead to meet the expanding demands. For example, when the pandemic hit, they knew there would be a demand for toilet paper and they got all they needed.

There is an ongoing shortage of some paper goods and some food items and rising inflation is a concern.

“Inflation will probably be around 7% at the end of the year,” Whitaker said. “Shortages are something we are going to have to learn to deal with and it is affecting us right now.”

Thanksgiving is an important season for John 3:16 Mission as they serve thousands of hot meals for five days around Thanksgiving Day and they plan to distribute 5,000 food baskets – complete with turkeys and all the trimmings – to needy families and the working poor.

“We have been working on Thanksgiving for the past two months,” Whitaker said. “We still don’t have the number of turkeys we need so far to prime the pump, so to speak. It is anybody’s guess what our Thanksgiving distribution will look like.”

He said September is a good time for people to start donating frozen turkeys and also other Thanksgiving items like cranberry sauce, green beans, mashed potato boxes, stuffing mix, pumpkin pie filling, pie crust boxes, canned fruit, Jell-0 and other traditional food. (They don’t need more canned corn).

And money donations are particularly helpful because the mission is part of a buying group that can purchase turkeys and other items cheaper than the public can.

“If it’s nothing more than God bless you and a good meal, it can make a big difference with people,” Whitaker said.

Early in the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, John 3:16 Mission had to deal with some cases.

“Now, there is absolutely no cases of Covid at John 3:16 Mission,” said Whitaker. “We are sanitizing and we take temperatures and we ask people to wear masks. We are taking all the precautions.

“We can’t socially distance like everybody suggests that you do and not serve the number of people we need to serve. Our chapels are jammed. Our dormitories are filled.

“So it either comes in the category of we are in the grace of God and He’s taking care of fools, Irishmen and people who take care of John 3:16 Mission or everybody keeps talking about, let’s follow the science. And there’s a piece here they haven’t discovered yet.”

The website for the mission is www.John316mission.org. Donations of money, clothing and food can be dropped off at 579 N. 39th W. Ave. The mission telephone number is 918-587-1186.

“I’ve got the greatest job in the City of Tulsa,” Whitaker said. “Who gets paid to minister to go with food and clothing and shelter for people who need help all day long?”