Samantha Marshall stands outside her home in Longmont 鈥� a two-door, gray Scion Touring Coupe. Two of her dogs, Jax and Lily, sleep in the back seat.
鈥淚 don't know if you can see in there,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat's his, him and Lily鈥檚 spot.鈥�
Samantha Marshall, her husband Brandon Marshall and their third dog Muffin hunker down in the front.
鈥淭his is my spot,鈥� she said. 鈥淲here they have bucket seats, we have to have pillows in the seats or your butt鈥檚 going to hurt.鈥�
The Marshalls work as day laborers. They鈥檝e been living in their car since late February when they moved to Boulder County from Kentucky. At first, they stayed in parking lots or parks, but that quickly became a hassle.
鈥淚 was always a nervous wreck thinking, 鈥榃ell is somebody going to mess with this,'鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause we鈥檝e been woke up in the middle of the night and told to leave.鈥�
"It's our safe spot. It's our home right now."Samantha Marshall
It鈥檚 embarrassing, said Marshall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a crazy time. I never thought anything like this would ever happen.鈥�
But things changed about two months ago when the Marshalls were accepted into a program that provides overnight parking from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. in a designated lot.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our safe spot,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our home right now.鈥�
The program is called and it is one of the first of its kind in Northern Colorado. Created by , a homeless outreach organization in Longmont, it's designed to fill a gap in the current shelter system which mainly serves individual adults. HOPE鈥檚 executive director Joseph Zanovitch said SafeLot welcomes couples and pets, but the program is selective.
鈥淲e are very strict on who comes in this program. The first name of the program is safe for a reason,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e maintain that because we have a strict code of conduct that everyone has to follow.鈥�
Zanovitch fondly calls participants, like the Marshalls, parkers or neighbors or friends. The program prioritizes families, vulnerable adults and those who can work or are working. SafeLot is currently at capacity with eight vehicles and a waiting list. Parkers can stay as long as they need.
鈥淭his is purposely meant as a temporary chapter in someone's life,鈥� Zanovitch said. 鈥淲hen they come here everything is designed to get them back on their feet and out of here as quickly as possible.鈥�
The SafeLot program is located at a local church. HOPE has collaborated with churches in the past and currently runs shelters at two of them. Zanovitch, who worked with a former pastor to get the program up and running, said this partnership makes sense.
鈥淚 knew I needed to get this program done sooner than later, a church was the way to go,鈥� he said. 鈥淎lso, from a zoning standpoint, this made it very easy this becomes an outreach program of the church.鈥�
Sara Lloyd is a church elder and a member of the outreach committee. She was familiar with safe parking programs and thought SafeLot would be a great opportunity for the church to serve the community.
鈥淥ne of the worries I think for organizations that are considering doing this is the idea that, 鈥極h my goodness, there will be, there could be problems, there could be crime, all this other stuff.' And the opposite is true,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you have a lot that's empty most of the week because it's a church, then stuff happens. When you have people staying here every night, stuff stops happening.鈥�
The church provides several amenities, including daily breakfast and dinner, a community room, male and female restrooms, and showers. There is also a HOPE case manager on site to help parkers connect to social services, resources and general needs.
鈥淪o, they don鈥檛 have to worry about looking for that job or maintaining that job, we鈥檙e going to cover that more them,鈥� Zanovitch said. 鈥淭he case management aspect really encompasses from the most basic to really complex, dealing with housing issues.鈥�
The concept behind safe lots has been around for decades. One of the is New Beginning Safe Parking Program. It was created in Santa Barbara, California in 2003 as a safe place for RVs to park. Since then it has grown to 26 lots and around 145 parking spots for all vehicles.
The program鈥檚 success led New Beginnings to create a manual and training for other communities wanting to follow its model. This includes cities up and down the West Coast like , , Seattle and now the Safe Lot in Longmont.
Cassie Roach, manager of the safe parking program, said New Beginnings has sold about 100 manuals. One thing the organization stresses is the importance of having case management.
鈥淲hile individuals living in vehicles are experiencing homelessness, they are very different in many ways than the like stereotypical individual experiencing homelessness,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey often don鈥檛 quite see themselves as homeless. So, they aren鈥檛 as open to or aware of homeless services."
Across the country, a point-in-time is done on a single night each January to track the number of people experiencing homelessness. Metro Denver, which covers seven counties including Boulder County, over 6,100 people this year. Slightly more than 25%, 1,561 people, were unsheltered and lived on the street, in a tent, a temporary motel room or a vehicle.
Homelessness has been in the rise for years and the coronavirus is exacerbating the issue, said Cathy Alderman, vice president of communications and public policy for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
鈥淲e know people have been sleeping in their cars, that this is not a new phenomenon,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 certainly increased during this crisis response as people are facing evictions because of lost wages and unemployment benefits running out.鈥�
During the pandemic, about 3,000 people have stayed in auxiliary shelters at the Coliseum and National Western Center in Denver. According to Alderman, more than 1,000 people are thought to be in living in tents in the downtown area.
鈥淭elling people to sleep outside or telling people to sleep in their cars is certainly not a solution. But it might be an emergency need that can be met that way, while we work on a long-term solution."Cathy Alderman, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
In July, Mayor Michael Hancock announced for proposed safe outdoor spaces. The would have bathrooms, food and other resources as well as services to help people get back on their feet.
鈥淭elling people to sleep outside or telling people to sleep in their cars is certainly not a
solution,鈥� said Alderman. "But it might be an emergency need that can be met that way, while we work on a long-term solution."
No sites for a safe outdoor space have been selected yet. Meanwhile in Longmont, the demand for safe parking is growing.
鈥淲e're actively working on how we can effectively expand and still make sure we can take care of everyone who comes in this program with the same quality and attention they deserve," said Zanovitch.
Samantha Marshall and her husband have gotten used to the SafeLot program. It gives them safety, stability and a community, she said.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e given us hope, they really have,鈥� she continued.
The program manager is helping her get into cosmetology school and find them permanent housing. The Marshalls are saving money and hope to be living in their new apartment before winter starts.
鈥淚鈥檇 be happy with an efficiency or a one-bedroom,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 mean, we don鈥檛 need much obviously. If we can live in a car, we can live anywhere.鈥�
