Downtown Tupelo Area Residents Concerned About Overly Aggressive Homeless People

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Some Tupelo residents are upset over what they believe is a growing problem with what they describe as overly aggressive homeless people in the downtown district.

Like many residents in the downtown area, Terry Lytal takes walks around the historic district for exercise. But on a recent afternoon, the medical professional was approached by a group of people.

“All of a sudden there was four young homeless people, who came upon me and demanded I give them my phone, then they started using a lot of profanity, threatening me to give it to them, then I politely turned around, and kind of went wild on them, told them I had dialed 9 1 1 and police were on their way,” Lytal said.

Lytal says the group backed away and retreated. Lytal made a police report, and has even identified some of the suspects to police.

Lytal says he has noticed an increasing number of homeless people in the downtown area, especially in the past year and as a homeowner, he has concerns.

“It bothers me because I moved to this area, it was up and coming. Tupelo is saying how they’re trying to revive the downtown area and trying to bring it back to life, and they’ve done a great job downtown with restaurants, and other things, I’m afraid it’s going to affect people wanting to move down here if they don’t get a grip on it,” Lytal said.

Tupelo City Attorney Ben Logan says he has also heard from homeowners and business owners in the area, who shared similar concerns. And there are things people can do if they are threatened or know that someone is trespassing.

“Always file a police report if you feel intimidated or threatened, always give notice to those folks to stay off your property, if they don’t then you can file an affidavit with city court to have them prosecuted,” Logan said.

Recently, the city cleared out an encampment in a wooded area off of South Madison Street. A concerned citizen sent us photos of a tent that had been set up on the property, along with other photos of homeless people congregating on private property.

A lot of foot traffic occurs between Carnation Street and Jefferson Street. The Salvation Army , on Carnation, provides lunch and dinner, while All Saints Episcopal Church, on Jefferson, serves a free breakfast Monday through Friday. Both Lytal and Logan say having one location providing services for the homeless would help.

“Find a spot, somewhere, centralized, so you don’t have Salvation Army, library, with wi fi there and Episcopal church with a feeding program on the grounds, one place so there’s not a lot of movement around several blocks downtown,” Logan said.

While the Salvation Army operates a shelter, Logan says not everyone chooses to follow the guidelines in order to stay there.

The city of Tupelo also works with the group “Mississippi United to End Homelessness” or MUTEH. That organization works to find affordable housing for those who want to get off the streets.