An overnight parking program for people living in their cars is back. The need has not gone away – WFYI

An overnight parking program for people living in their cars is back. The need has not gone away  WFYI

Not all people experiencing homelessness sleep outdoors or in shelters, many live in their cars. The goal of Safe Park Indy is to connect some of those people with a safe place to park at night. Rose rolled into the southside Indianapolis church parking lot on a hot day in late June. It’s the site of citizen-led initiative, Safe Park Indy, that aims to help an underserved group of people — those without housing who live in their cars. Rose had been homeless on and off for about four years. Even though she was fortunate to have a car, she said it’s not easy. “It’s very nerve-wracking, and it takes probably like three times as much energy to do something while you’re homeless than it does if you’re not,” she told WFYI.

“If you don’t know where you’re going to lay your head at night, it’s… it’s pretty exhausting.” That’s the problem Safe Park Indy was created to answer. Safe Park Indy is the only safe parking program in Indiana that the National Vehicle Residency Coalition lists. The program has 40 oversight spots and more than 880 people have applied to use the service since 2024. Founder Elizabeth Friedland, who funds it with her own money and donations, says people who live in their cars are often missed in the