Safe Parking LA has partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs' West Los Angeles Campus to provide 10 overnight parking spaces to homeless veterans living in their vehicles. See the article below for more information.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-parking-va-homeless-20180414-story.html
In the grim calculus of homelessness, having a vehicle is what passes for being lucky. It means you can avoid spending the night on a sidewalk or in a creepy emergency shelter. And if that’s luck, it’s spreading: The number of cars, campers and vans serving as homes in the city of Los Angeles has gone up significantly, reaching more than 4,700 in 2017’s homelessness count.
Daily Mail article detailing California's hidden homeless population. "Hundreds of people, including nurses and chefs, are sleeping in parking lots in affluent areas like Santa Barbara as they make the most of the only homes they can afford"
To the Homeless and Poverty Committee: Good afternoon honorable Council Members. I am here today to beseech your help. My name is Dr. Scott Sale and I am one of the advocates and founders of Safe Parking LA that started over 6 years ago at Leo Baeck Temple. Our 501C3’s mission is to be as supportive as possible of the initiation of Safe parking lot programs in every council district. We have worked toward a City wide Safe Parking program as in every council district there are people experiencing vehicular homelessness and it is only getting worse.
Direct the Homeless Strategy Committee, with assistance from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, City Attorney and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to develop and submit for approval a Safe Parking program including permits for predetermined locations, contracting guidelines for homeless service providers, max vehicle occupancy guidelines per location, service provider engagement for enrollment in homeless case management, and integration with Los Angeles Police Department local policing personnel.
