Letter to the Editor: Read Article With a Multitude of Reactions

To the Editor (re: Hearing Officer to Consider Relinquishment of All Saints Safe Parking MCUP After Funding Falls Through, 8/25)

I read this article with a multitude of reactions: sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, lack of surprise and a few strands of hope. To begin with, the article opens by describing the safe parking program as “controversial.” There is absolutely no reason this should be considered controversial. These programs are happening nationwide and are a successful component on the path toward permanent housing.

As the sole operator of a safe parking program in Pasadena, Friends In Deed has had nothing but positive experiences and many good results. In partnership with Trinity Lutheran Church, we have a small program of ten parking spots. Each participant is assigned to one of our street outreach staff members, who has regular meetings with them to work on progress toward housing. The church provides access to bathrooms, water and phone charging.

There are strict rules to be enrolled in the program, including: the vehicle must be running, have current registration and insurance; the vehicle must be moved out of the lot during daily business hours; there are no visitors permitted; quiet hours are strictly enforced. We have nightly security patrol; and monthly meetings with participants, the pastor, church staff, Friends In Deed staff and various community members.

The program at All-Saints, with 25 spots, would have greatly enhanced what we are able to offer in our program. While having a vehicle is a huge advantage for an unhoused person, it also comes with risks, which include but aren’t limited to: harassment from other people and the police; having your car towed and lacking funds to retrieve it; ticketing; inability to sleep due to fear of any of the above. Safe parking is precisely what it says it is: a place to safely park for the night, and trying to get enough rest to function at work the next day. That is right, many of our participants have one, if not two, jobs.

In the past year, Friends In Deed has successfully moved seven people into permanent housing, the majority of whom were seniors. As for everyone who fears this might ruin or disrupt your neighborhood, I invite you to come to the site and meet with the men and women who are sleeping in their cars.

I attended several of the council meetings and listened to the attorney from the Maryland Homeowners Association. He spent the majority of his time arguing the merits of a procedural issue. Of the 50 speakers who spoke, as referenced in the article, the overwhelming majority were in favor of the program. Safe parking isn’t a shelter; it is a way to provide a modicum of security for those individuals living in their vehicles.

I shared my various reactions at the beginning of this letter. The two I will end with are lack of surprise and a few strands of hope. My lack of surprise comes from hearing the same tired arguments, from community members, HOAs, business owners and elected officials, that we all want to work on eradicating homelessness in our city, but never like any of the best-practice methods that expert agencies provide. The few strands of hope come from knowing that so many dedicated and committed people continue to show up and support our most vulnerable neighbors.

Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater

Rabbi Grater is the CEO of local nonprofit Friends In Deed, and the Chair of the Pasadena Human Services Commission.