A lifeline or ‘dystopian’?: Schools open parking lots for homeless students and families — from hechingerreport.org by Neal Morton
As family homelessness hits record highs, a few school districts are beginning to offer parking lots as safe sites for students and their families to sleep at night. Some families prefer the option over emergency shelters
Family homelessness hit a record high in 2024, as the end of federal pandemic assistance and rising inflation pushed more families with children and unaccompanied youth out of their homes. A sluggish labor market and high housing costs have further strained family budgets. And now, as the number and visibility of unhoused families continue to climb, a handful of school districts are considering their parking lots as a way to shelter homeless students and their families.
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The model is now spreading beyond California. In Ohio, the Cincinnati school district later this spring will open its first safe parking lot for families at a downtown elementary school. The teachers union for Fayette County Public Schools, in neighboring Kentucky, has asked its school board to follow Cincinnati’s lead.