Safe Parking Pilot Program

HHCLC offers two (2) opportunities for reaching those who are struggling to find permanent housing in Lewis County. Click here or more info about HHCLC.

1. Shalom Village: Provide high barrier transitional housing, community support & case management to individuals waiting for permanent housing in order to help them achieve their housing and income goals.  Shalom Village is located at Harrison Square Presbyterian Church in Centralia

2. Safe Parking 6-Month Pilot Program: Provide safe parking areas for children & their families living in their cars in the Centralia/ Chehalis School District. 

Safe Parking programs exist throughout the country to provide a safe and legal place to sleep for people who live in their cars. They are also places where resources are available, including resources to help secure more permanent housing, either on site or by referral. The most important part of safe parking is a safe place so people can relax and actually sleep at night.

• Families with children who reside in the Centralia and Chehalis school districts (conservatively at least 20-25 families living out of their cars according to local school officials). This program will give them a safe place to sleep and access to other services.

• The McKinney-Vento programs at each school district know about the coming safe parking program and have been provided the paperwork for entry into the program. 

• The program is designed to provide stable, safe and legal parking for children and their families to sleep at night.

• Coordinated entry intakes will be available once a week by the Salvation Army, to help people connect with local resources to find permanent housing. The goal being to help people get back on their feet and live in safe and stable conditions.

• This is a 6-month pilot program and will be assessed as it progresses.

• C3 will assign no more than 10 safe parking spots in C3’s large back parking lot (off Eshom Rd.)

• C3 will host 1 week approximately every 8 weeks.

• C3 will provide two hosts each night (7pm-10pm) to check participants in.

• Restroom (porta-potty) and trash receptacles will be provided. These will be transported to the next Safe Parking location weekly.

• Safe parking hours are 7pm to 7am. No visitors are allowed. Participants cannot return to the parking lot during non-program hours.

• No entry is allowed after 10pm. Barriers  will be used to prevent people from driving in after the parking lot is closed.

• No access to C3 facilities will be permitted during program hours.

• Vehicles permitted: car, truck, or minivan. No RVs.

• No drugs, alcohol, or weapons will be allowed in the Safe Parking Lot. 

• Participants breaking the code of conduct will be required to leave the program.

• Safe Parking occupants are asked to be in or near their cars from 7pm to 10pm.  After 10pm all occupants must be in their cars except for restroom use.

• No outside cooking is allowed.  No cooking in the car is allowed

• No running of the cars, except if it is below freezing (or extremely cold).

• Participants in the program will submit to a background check and sign a code of conduct.

• This program will serve families who are down on their luck, not dangerous criminals.

• Background checks will exclude anyone with a known history of violence or predatory behavior.

• In many safe parking programs, participants form their own community watch, looking out for each other and alerting authorities if any suspicious outsider comes near. The participants want the program to continue, so they do what they can to not jeopardize it.

• The program is small and temporary at each site. It will not draw a crowd.

• Participants are not looking for conflict – they’re seeking peace and rest.

• Our HHCLC Safe Parking program is dedicated to mitigating risk for the sake of community members, including neighbors of participating churches as well as the vulnerable individuals living in their cars.

• Hosts will be onsite from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. After 10:00 pm, participants will have the number for an emergency contact for the host church as well as 911 if there are any issues. Centralia and Chehalis police departments will be informed of the safe parking location schedule. 

• There is an established process to follow which ensures participants are vetted and committed to the program. A HHCLC (Hope Housing Collaborative of Lewis County) iPad will move to the different Host Churches where vetting information will be stored.

• There are currently 6 churches committed to this program in Centralia / Chehalis. The churches rotate hosting responsibilities so that each church hosts approximately every two months.  

  •  Chehalis United Methodist Church (Chehalis)

  • Grace Foursquare Church (Centralia)

  • Harrison Square Presbyterian Church (Centralia)

  • Immanuel Lutheran Church (Centralia)

  • St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church (Chehalis)

  • Centralia Community Church of God (Centralia)

• There are several other churches in Centralia going through the process of determining if they want to join the pilot program.   

• Program leaders have met with and informed Centralia and Chehalis Police officials and have their support in helping unhoused children in the Centralia/Chehalis School Districts.

• Local companies (Goebel, Lemay) are providing support through donations of equipment.

• The program will be evaluated using surveys of participants every month.

•  Neighbors will be contacted throughout the pilot and asked for feedback on how things are going and suggestions for improvement.

• Law enforcement/fire service use will be monitored.

• Contact information for committee members will be provided for questions or concerns.

• At this point, there are insufficient solutions for some families’ needs that have them residing in their car as a temporary solution until more permanent housing can be obtained.

• On average, it takes 3 months to 2 years of diligent pursuit to obtain adequate, sustainable housing. 

• The hope is that safe parking will be the point of contact to connect with people to help them move into more long term solutions.

• San Diego, CA - about 40% of participants in Safe Parking lots were able to move into permanent housing with program support

• Bellevue, WA - over 30 families transitioned into stable housing in its first 10 months. The program logged zero neighbor complaints or police/fire calls related to the site.

• Encinitas, CA - Zero impact on calls for police services or crime in the area