Safe Park Indy, a pilot program that offered free parking to unhoused individuals living in their vehicles has officially shut down.
The pilot program began accepting clients in October of 2024 to provide free nightly parking for unhoused individuals living out of their vehicles. The idea behind this innovative program was to offer a space for unhoused individuals, who are living in their cars, a safe place to stay free from police and/or property owners concerns.
The program was the first of its kind in Indiana, basing their framework on the roughly forty programs that have been implemented nationwide. By November of 2024, Safe Park Indy had over 350 people on their waiting list and expanded the program to a second location. However, even with adding additional parking opportunities, the program was only able to serve between 5-20 vehicles at a time. At the time of the programs closure, there were over 400 individuals on the waiting list.
Safe Park Indy hopes to obtain support from local nonprofits to reopen and resume operations in the future.
If you’re interested in helping keep Safe Park Indy going, email Friedland at elizabeth.friedland@gmail.com.
Sources:
New program provides free parking to individuals living in their cars in Indianapolis
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