Safe Parking programs are a safe and legal homelessness intervention for people who are living in their vehicles to stabilize and connect to resources. While parking sites may take on unique characteristics, most sanctioned locations include access to a restroom facility and the security of a guard.

One way to help alleviate homelessness is to keep vulnerable populations from losing theirs. This is why we are grateful for the work of Urban.org in prioritizing emergency rental assistance to keep renters in their homes by creating an interactive map to highlight where low-income renters face the greater risks of housing instability and homelessness to inform an equitable COVID-19 response.

The phrase in homelessness circles, “Not in my backyard” has a response from church congregations across the country: Yes, in God’s backyard. NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard) is the act of a community constantly denying allocation of space to help the unsheltered. But if the community fears that home values, or the quality of life will fall, take a look around you. Something worse is already happening if nothing is done.

Everyone agrees, the cost of housing is far too high.  Late last year, auditors in Los Angeles sounded an alarm after a review of 1000 units under construction for unhoused individuals averaged $600,000, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. This smashes the median home price in the United States, which Business Insider sets at $226,800.

Protests across the country over the death of George Floyd have highlighted continuing racial discrepancies in the United States and need for reforms. The issue of homelessness in particular has disproportionately affected minority and historically underserved communities.

A big thank you is in order. What started as a chance meeting with an architect has catapulted Homes 4 the Homeless into the thick of rapid response, transitional housing. In normal times, we might not have had such an opportunity to work with an architecture firm like Workshop Architects, but now with the COVID19 Pandemic and social distancing, we have the luxury of working with ten or more architects at a time, face-to-face via Zoom virtual meetings!