A safe parking program that closed last year returns to Indianapolis June 22. The initiative seeks to provide a safe place for unhoused people to sleep in their cars overnight.
It was initially scheduled to open June 1 and is finalizing insurance.
Elizabeth Friedland started Safe Park Indy in 2024 with an all-volunteer staff. Organizations donated unused parking lots, where people could sleep overnight for up to 60 days.
At one time, the waitlist had about 400 people for 30 spots. Friedland said the need was clear, but the demand was overwhelming.
"We found out that there’s obviously a huge need for this program, the community is supportive of this program, but we also found out that an all-volunteer staff cannot run this,” she said.
Friedland asked nonprofits working in the housing space if they could take it on. She said, in the end, those groups had limited finances to run their own programs. Safe Park Indy ended after a year.
Safe Park Indy 2.0 returns with some changes. New check-in and waitlist processes aim to make it more manageable to run on a volunteer basis.
“I thought, ‘Okay, let’s figure out a way where I can run this in a more sustainable way that requires less manpower, a little less funding, and see if we can stand this up again,” Friedland said.
As of May 27, 200 people applied through the program's website.
When Safe Park Indy opens, a text message and email will be sent to the entire waitlist. The first people to respond will get the available spots. Each time a spot opens after that, the waitlist will get a new message.
The 2.0 program will partner with at least two locations. To sign up or learn more, visit safeparkindy.org.
Contact WFYI data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org
