San Diegans experiencing homelessness will soon have a new resource to use while they get back on their feet.
Wednesday, Mayor Todd Gloria announced the city’s fourth safe parking lot for people to park and live in.
Michael Johns will be among the first to move in. He got laid off about six months ago, forcing his family of three to live in their car.
“Pretty much, that's what started our spiral down," Johns said.
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Running out of time and money to find a place, the Rose Canyon camper came just in time for his family.
“It's very hard to raise a 15-year-old in a vehicle," Johns said. "We're grateful for the opportunity to be in a trailer and use it as our home base because it's a great transition to go from something like this back into housing.”
The Rose Canyon safe parking lot is a joint effort with Jewish Family Service and the city of San Diego. It will be open 24 hours a day.
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It will provide 15 parking spaces for unhoused residents to sleep overnight in their vehicles, with access to resources including employment assistance, credit repair and financial literacy.
There are also 12 camper trailers families can live in for as long as they need to. The trailers sleep six people and come with showers and bathrooms.
The state of California donated the campers as part of its emergency response to the homelessness crisis. Todd Gloria wants these repurposed parking lots to spread.
“There's nothing magical about this parking lot,' Gloria said. "Every city in this county has one. Consider whether or not your city can actually make space for the people who are homeless in your city and actually provide services to them.”
As Johns’ family looked around their soon to be home, they were overwhelmed with gratitude.
“We take for granted that the normal basic necessities of life, but when you don't have them anymore, you start to realize how quickly you miss them," Johns said. "Just having a bed to lay out on is way more than we could ask for.”
Since the program began in 2018, it’s helped rehouse more than 3,000 San Diegans.
People will begin living in the rose canyon safe parking lot next week
To get a parking spot in this lot contact Jewish Family Service.
