San Diego Opens Overnight Safe Parking Site in Grantville

San Diego County recently opened a new Overnight Safe Parking site in the Grantville neighborhood to support people experiencing homelessness by providing 20 vehicle spaces along with access to case management, housing navigation, and social services through the nonprofit Dreams for Change. The county aims to expand emergency housing options, with plans for affordable senior housing on the same land. Supervisor Joel Anderson highlighted that over half of the participants at safe parking sites have transitioned to permanent housing, and his district has seen a significant reduction in homelessness. Similarly, in Wilmington, North Carolina, the organization Vigilant Hope is proposing a rotating safe parking program using church parking lots to offer safe overnight spaces and connect residents to services, addressing the challenges of sleeping in vehicles amid local ordinances against overnight parking. However, contrasting approaches exist elsewhere, such as in Toms River, New Jersey, where a municipal ordinance bans sleeping in parking lots, criminalizing the unsheltered and complicating efforts by homeless advocates to provide assistance. These differing local policies underscore the ongoing debate between enforcement and supportive housing solutions for addressing homelessness.