At night, many of Los Angeles’s parking lots sit empty, while the estimated 9,500 homeless people who live out of their vehicles rove city streets looking for a place where they can legally park and get some sleep.
What they generally find, however, are various restrictions on overnight parking or on oversized vehicles.
But relief may finally be coming as the city considers a “safe parking” initiative as part of its $2 billion plan to end homelessness in L.A. The initiative would open up certain parking lots—like those in front of churches, city buildings, or nonprofit agencies—at night for those who sleep in their cars, according to The Los Angeles Times.
It’s a program that L.A’s neighbor, Santa Barbara, has implemented for 12 years to help get its homeless population off the streets. Run by Santa Barbara’s New Beginnings Counseling Center in cooperation with local government and nonprofit agencies, churches, and businesses, the program has made 115 monitored parking spaces available. Campers stay there overnight, but must leave by morning.
[For more of this story, written by Linda Poon, go to http://www.citylab.com/housing...anta-barbara/481623/]
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