San Diego highlights Rose Canyon safe-parking success, plans expansion to city-owned H Barrack site

City officials and nonprofit partners highlighted San Diego's safe-parking program at the Rose Canyon site and said the city will expand capacity in response to a rising population of people living in vehicles.

Mayor Todd Gloria described Rose Canyon as part of a broader strategy that now includes four city-sponsored safe-parking sites. He said the city-run program has served "more than 5,200 people" since it began and that Rose Canyon in particular has seen higher-than-average exits to housing (the mayor cited a 67 percent exit rate at that site). Gloria said the city is preparing the city-owned H Barrack site near San Diego International Airport to serve an additional 200 vehicles and will open a bidding process for a social services organization to operate the site.

Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service (the organization's name was given at the event), described the services JFS provides at its safe-parking locations — career coaching, financial literacy, parenting classes and casework — and shared client success stories, including families and a high-school valedictorian who moved from the lot into stable housing. Hopkins also cited a county-level assistance figure: he said the countywide program since January 2018 has helped "more than 50,200 individuals" and "3,800 households."

The ceremony highlighted different sets of figures: city officials cited a city-run program total (more than 5,200 people served in six years), while the JFS representative cited larger countywide totals since 2018. Both speakers emphasized that safe-parking works alongside shelters and safe-sleeping sites to provide a range of interventions.

City officials said the H Barrack expansion will nearly double current capacity if approved and contracted. Officials did not provide a firm timeline for when the H Barrack site would open to participants beyond announcing the bidding process and initial preparation steps.