SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – San Diego’s latest and largest Safe Parking lot -- the H Barracks -- is welcoming people who are living out of a vehicle and are looking to rest without worry for the night.
On Thursday, ABC 10News was the first to go inside the lot since it opened on May 31 and had been welcoming people who don’t have a place to go.
Sometimes being homeless doesn't mean being on the streets.
"There's different levels of homelessness. The streets is the bottoms and if you can get a van, you're a lot better off,” said Leonard Jacobs, who is staying at the H Barracks.
And it wasn't always Plan A for some.
"Well, my initial thought or premise was to travel, but that kind of got hijacked,” Hans said.
Hans told ABC 10News he bought his RV last September to spend his golden years hitting the road.
But in January, when driving the van back to San Diego, he got life-altering news.
"I tried to drink some water, and I couldn't get anything down. I went to the hospital, and at that point, they said I had a malignant tumor in my throat,” Hans said.
So, the money that was supposed to be spent on travel, all of it went to chemo and radiation, focusing him to focus on his health and having to stay his RV.
But Hans now has a place to rest while he waits to find out if he's cancer free at the new H Barracks Safe Parking lot in the Midway District.
"We see a high number of individuals who are first-time homeless,” Mike Phillips, with Jewish Family Service of San Diego, said.
Jewish Family Service runs the City of San Diego-owned site.
"Sometimes people are retired, living on a fixed income and getting pushed out of their fixed income living situation,” Phillips said. “People who are unable to pay rent maybe recently evicted, individuals who maybe have had like Hans, a medical situation which put him in a situation where suddenly he had to prioritize finding a safe place to sleep while he focused on his health."
Phillips told ABC 10News H Barracks is helping people who are living out of their cars with wrap around services to end their homelessness.
The lot opened at the end of last month. So far, 24 people have signed up to stay at the lot, which can serve up to 190.
"So, we're doing a slow ramp-up. We have to intake each individual and make sure that they meet our intake requirements. But the goal is to get as many people in as fast as we can,” Phillips said.
Making a place to park for the night, much more than that; peace of mind.
"I needed a place where I could come take care of what I needed to take care of and rest, and a lot of people out there are the exact same way,” Hans said.
