Miss. trailer park run by police nonprofit shelters people but draws complaints over sex offenders, evictions

A trailer park operated by the Mississippi Center for Police and Sheriffs provides emergency housing to people who lack stable homes, the center says, but a resident and center officials disagree over promises, safety and a recent eviction.

Lacy Simms told Mississippi Today she and her 7-year-old daughter became homeless two days before Christmas after Simms lost her job at T.J. Maxx while caring for the child, who had been hospitalized with seizures. Simms said former parole officer Eric Proctor helped them move into the park, which the center asked not to have publicly identified to prevent harassment of residents.

The center’s website says the nonprofit provides “shelter, safety, and outreach services” to victims of violent crime and people facing homelessness for reasons including domestic violence, human trafficking, juvenile justice involvement and re-entry from the Department of Corrections. Simms said the park’s landlady advised keeping her daughter indoors because sex offenders also lived there. Simms said she was groped while doing work for one resident; Steve Pickett, the center’s executive director, told Mississippi Today that anyone who is assaulted should report it to police.

Pickett, who previously chaired the Mississippi Parole Board, said the park is a transitional living program and cannot segregate residents by age, race or status because of federal housing laws. He said the center provided a house, groceries, utilities and holiday gifts when Simms arrived. Simms said she was promised free housing for up to two years, but Pickett said she received temporary housing and was later given an eviction notice in February ordering her to leave in May so she could find work and move on.

Proctor, the center’s chief of operations, acknowledged that two registered sex offenders live at the park and defended its safety measures, saying there are cameras and staff who patrol the grounds. A resident who escaped human trafficking told Mississippi Today she feels safe at the park and that it helped her recover; Mississippi Today said it does not identify victims of sex crimes. Pickett said he created the park after seeing people eligible for parole remain incarcerated because they had no approved housing and that re-entry beds in the state have become more limited.

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