<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/05/safe-overnight-parking-lot-sleep-in-car-rv-homelessness-housing-shelter>
"Starting in October 2021, about 40 motorhomes or recreational vehicles (RVs)
parked in a lot on Grayson Street in Berkeley, California, as part of the
city’s first attempt at a “safe parking lot”.
According to Google Maps photos, the space had been mostly unused since 2008.
But a local non-profit, the Dorothy Day House, created the Safe Parking and
Respite Kickstart (Spark) program to help “alleviate the crisis of unsheltered
and encampment homeless” in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.
The space filled a pressing need for those who didn’t have traditional lodging.
People without stable, stationary housing could park their vehicles there for
free without fear of violating city ordinances against sidewalk occupation and
long-term parking. Spark provided water and toilets, and it allowed occupants
to have pets and in-and-out privileges without a curfew – features that are
often hard to come by on the street or in homeless shelters.
As homelessness continues to grow, so does the number of those living in their
vehicles. A 2018 survey of King county, Washington, showed that 3,372 people
were living in their cars, a 46% increase from the year before. In 2019, San
Francisco saw a 45% increase from its count in 2017; in nearby Oakland,
vehicle-based homelessness more than doubled in the same timespan. It’s not
surprising that municipalities are starting their own safe-lot programs; in
2023, the cities of Vista, California, and Seattle and Tacoma in Washington
established their first-ever safe lots."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
