A local nonprofit’s program that allows homeless people to temporarily live in their cars in a church parking lot is expanding to include two more churches in Longmont.
Joseph Zanovitch, executive director of Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement, or HOPE, in an email said an expansion of the SafeLot initiative was always planned. “It was just a matter of time before we did,” he said.
HOPE opened SafeLot in a church parking lot in June to create a place for people to live in their cars while they look for a permanent residence. The lot is limited to nine vehicles, but adding two more churches on Feb. 1 will increase SafeLot capacity to 19 spaces, according to a staff report to city council.
Zanovitch said HOPE kept the number of participants in SafeLot small for operations. COVID-19 — which tossed many people out of jobs and their homes — played a role in the expansion.
“... The additional lots will help us take care of the folks that are on the waiting list for the program,” Zanovich said.
Since its inception, SafeLot has served 24 people and has had 57 applicants, according to the city report. Through November, three SafeLot participants have achieved permanent housing.
As of November, 25 people were on the program's waiting list and 12 had been booted from SafeLot for violating the rules of the program, the report states.
SafeLot is only available for people with passenger vehicles and not owners of RV and sleeper vehicles, Zanovitch said.
A Boulder SafeLot program is expected to open this year.
