Mississippi town's 'highway for the homeless' explodes in numbers as furious locals say they've lost neighborhood to the unhoused

A Mississippi town is being plagued by a so-called 'highway of homeless' - one that locals say have taken over their neighborhood.

The controversy is occurring in a quiet, dead-end neighborhood in suburban Biloxi, where the old campus of a now-defunct school has become a tent city, residents told local news stations this week.

For years, the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, which owns the old Mercy Cross High School, has allowed homeless to live in the tents - troubling neighbors to no end.

Several told WLOX News how it is become a big problem, complaining how they live on a stretch of street between the school and a mission that's been supplying the transients with food and showers. To get to the mission, homeowners said homeless have effectively created their own 'highway' - hence the new nickname.

Moreover, it comes months after the mayor of Mobile, Alabama, accused Biloxi of bussing homeless over the border in an attempt to reduce homeless numbers, as missions like Crusader Drive's Back Bay continue to operate independently.

The controversy is occurring in a quiet, dead-end neighborhood where the old campus of a school has become a tent city, allowing homeless there to sleep. Residents live on a stretch of street between the school and a mission supplying the transients with food and showers

Longtime local Patrick Murphy, after living on the street for 15 years, told WLOX Sunday how enough is enough. 

'We're just seeing on a daily basis, where we have so many more transient people, homeless people, all different types of homeless people in the neighborhood,' the father and homeowner explained.

'They're in and out all hours of the day and night.' 

'We lost our sidewalks, we lost our streets,' he went on, visibly perturbed after seeing his slice of paradise become a statistic in solving what many believe should be a city problem.

'Kids can't play in our front yards anymore, grandkids don't want to come and visit anymore. 

'We just lost our neighborhood.'

Others, like Murphy, explained how the homeless population has  exploded in recent months - to the point where some are breaking windows and knocking on citizens' doors menacingly.

This, reports show, has been happening for at least a year, with new transients seemingly arriving daily, rain or shine, to take advantage of the situation.

Residents told WLOX News how it is become a big problem, complaining how they live on a stretch of street between the school and the mission

A few hundred yards away, tents near the high school campus sit unhindered, as Mayor Gilich in February said he is working with city officials and agents to discuss ways to handle the situation. The tents are technically located on private property

The controversy comes months after the mayor of Mobile, Alabama, Sandy Stimpson (left). accused Biloxi Mayor Andrew 'FoFo' Gilich of bussing homeless over the border in an attempt to reduce  numbers

'It's a big issue,' said fellow longtime resident Joyce Dunnell, who lives as a landlord in the area - a source of income after retirement. 

But this stream of arrivals has cast a figurative cloud over her golden years, she said - explaining some of the new settlers' poor behavior.

'They are coming here,  looking in the window, knocking on the door, asking for cigarettes, asking to use the bathroom, or to use our water - they've been using my water.

'I lost a renter after three years because of it -  she felt unsafe. She is a single parent. She had to broke her lease in January.

'I'm in my retirement years,' the homeowner in the area where homes typically runaround $120,000 added. 'This is my income.

'If I lose this-'

She didn't finish her sentence. 

These concerns, shared by several others, were recently aired in a three-page letter to the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, which again owns the old Mercy Cross High School property.

Longtime local Patrick Murphy, after living on the street for 15 years, told WLOX Sunday how enough is enough, citing how new transients on the street are a daily occurrence, and that they're behavior is scaring residents

Meanwhile, missions like the Back Bay Mission on Crusader's Drive continue to operate, with staffers seen handing out food to homeless on the stricken street on Sunday

The complaint goes on to ask the diocese 'what [they] are going to do now?' as both it and the city have refrained from publicly addressing the situation, leaving residents in the dark - with no solution in sight

'They're in and out all hours of the day and night We lost our sidewalks, we lost our streets,' he went on, visibly perturbed after seeing his slice of paradise become a statistic in solving what many believe should be a city problem

There, dozens of tents sit undeterred, sheltering the unsheltered on a patch of grass that is essentially private property.

In it, residents such as Murphy and Dunnel' wrote how 'they don't deserve to lose [their] safety, prosperity, or peace of mind due to people who don't live here[,] that have decided to violate the sanctity of our neighborhood and disrupt our peace.'

The complaint goes on to ask the diocese 'what [they] are going to do now?' as both it and the city have refrained from publicly addressing the situation, leaving residents in the dark - with no solution in sight.

We haven't been contacted or notified by anyone from Day One,' said Murphy. 'None of the neighbors, no one up and down the street, no one's heard from anybody.'

Members of the Back Bay Mission, meanwhile, met up with Murphy, Dunnell, and other residents Sunday to help spur discourse that may find that solution.

Craig Steenkamp, director of the mission's housing recovery effort, said that after a half-hour, that conversation went well.

'They've been very good,' he said of the exchanges with the facility's neighbors.

'It was just filling them on our part of what the solution might look like. I don't think anyone has come up with a concrete solution, but at the end of the day, we all want something positive to happen.

'They've been very good,' Steenkamp said on Sunday of the talks with the facility's neighbors

'It was just filling them on our part of what the solution might look like. I don't think anyone has come up with a concrete solution, but at the end of the day, we all want something positive to happen'

'We know the unsheltered population is expanding - and we want some kind of solution to that problem, whatever that might look like.'

Murphy on Sunday echoed those sentiments - making clear he has no qualms about  Steenkamp and his colleagues helping the new arrivals with medicine, food, and other humane amenities. 

'We're not really complaining, we're just saying: we have a problem and we need to fix it before it becomes a bigger problem,' he explained. 'There is a solution. Let's just work together and find it.'

In the interim, the tents around the old Mercy Cross High will stay, as residents like Carrie Ladner, who has lived on the street since 1976, says the unsheltered individuals have attempted to break into her home, car, use her outlets, and even her water, causing an increase in her bill. 

'The city's problem has become my problem,' Ladner said, asking for some civin intervention.

'They're not using the proper sidewalk like they should be using,' Ladner said. 'They also have the underpass with a nice walkway. They just won't do it because it's the shortcut.'

Back in February,  Jonathan Briggs and James Pennigton offered WLOX photos of some of the amenities they are offering the homeless occupying the tents, including showers. 

In an interview, they said they hope such services will deter the unhoused individuals from attempting to access residents' private property.

In the interim, the tents around the old Mercy Cross High will stay, as residents like Carrie Ladner, who has lived on the street since 1976, says the unsheltered individuals have attempted to break into her home, car, use her outlets, and even her water, causing an increase in her bill

The controversy comes months after the mayor of Mobile, Alabama , accused Biloxi of bussing homeless over the border in an attempt to reduce homeless numbers, as missions like Crusader Drive's Back Bay continue to operate independently. 

The Alabama city made the claim in a cease and desist letter sent to Biloxi Mayor Andrew Gilich - where officials asserted the practice has been going on for several months and offered photos billed as evidence

In a letter sent the following day, Gilich denied any wrongdoing - despite recent comments from Biloxi's police chief stating the city has reached ' an overabundance' of homeless people

'We here at Back Bay at the Michah Day Center have showers. If they come in with wet clothes, we are able to replace their clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, and everything,' Briggs said, sharing photos of the such.

Ladner, however, added how 'nobody should live like this,' citing how she, through all hours of the night, hears dogs barking, people screaming, while not knowing if they will 'steal something from her] porch. 

'I’ve already had my house broken into, my car broken into, and things stolen from off my porch,' Ladner said.

Mayor Gilich, meanwhile, said he is working with city officials and agents to discuss ways to handle the homeless situation. 

They mayor since 2015 found himself wrapped up in a scandal this past October, when a city in Alabama accused the town's police force of transporting homeless citizens over state lines.

The city of Mobile made the claim in a 'cease and desist' letter sent to the mayor, in which officials asserted the practice has been going on for several months.

The even offered photos framed as evidence, with one photograph, a still from a Mobile surveillance camera, showing a Biloxi police SUV passing a traffic light camera well within the Alabama city's limits.

Located about an hour's drive away, Mobile has a population of some 200,000 - while Biloxi, a city of 50,000, is a renowned casino destination.  

Bioxi's Mayor, denies any wrongdoing - despite recent comments from Biloxi's police chief stating the city has reached 'an overabundance.'

Upon being asked for a comment, a rep from Mayor Gilich's office said the mayor has been meeting with groups recently in search of a solution. No other details were provided.