Safe parking programs

Safe parking programs provide parking sites where people experiencing homelessness can legally park and stay in their cars overnight. Some safe parking programs provide support services and hire private security guards to make the facility more safe.

Compared with those living in tents and shelters, the so-called mobile homeless are more likely to have jobs or to be actively looking for work, a UCLA study found. Many lost their homes after being unable to afford rent or their mortgage. But living in a car comes with risks — of burglary, harassment and more. That has led to the creation of safe parking programs, designated places for people living in their vehicles to stay overnight.

Dozens of such lots, often outside of religious centers, have opened across the United States in the past five years. California has more safe parking lots than any other state, with more than two dozen.

Santa Barbara’s New Beginnings organization has operated a Safe Parking Program since 2004 in cooperation with local churches, governmental and non-profit agencies, and businesses. This Safe Parking Shelter and Rapid Rehousing Program provides safe overnight parking to individuals and families living in their vehicle.

The program currently manages over 200 spaces in 27 parking lots throughout the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and the neighboring unincorporated areas of the county, according to a report from Kristine Schwarz, New Beginnings's Executive Director. The program now also connects the chronically homeless to shelters and services.

In 2009, the nonprofit organization Dreams for Change established the first congregate-model Safe Parking Program in San Diego, CA. Founder Teresa Smith started Dreams for Change to address the rise in first-time homelessness occurring primarily as a result of the Great Recession. Dreams for Change’s Safe Parking programs offer on-site restrooms, charging stations, and case management services. Each individual or household also receives access to workforce training programs, resources to find employment, and support with developing a housing plan.

Dreams for Change has since worked with multiple cities and municipalities across the United States that are looking to replicate Safe Parking in their cities.

In October 2016, Dreams for Change signed the first lease agreement with Jewish Family Services to lease JFS’s main Kearny Mesa campus parking lot to operate a safe parking program at night. In addition to the outdoor safe parking program, Dreams for Change provided case management sessions inside rooms provided by JFS.