Hope Housing Collaborative of Lewis County members held a second informational meeting to discuss its safe parking program with residents on Thursday, May 22, at the Chehalis United Methodist Church.
The coalition of Twin Cities churches is planning to begin offering overnight parking spaces for unhoused women, children and families this summer.
Safe parking programs aim to provide designated, legal areas for people experiencing homelessness and living in their cars to park overnight and sleep.
Hope Housing is collaborating with local churches to utilize
the church parking lots for their program, which aims specifically to provide safe parking spaces for families with children living in cars in the Chehalis and Centralia school districts.
Thursday’s meeting followed a contentious first informational meeting held earlier this month at St. Timothy Episcopal Church in Chehalis, where many residents vocalized concerns about the program and some stormed out after the Q&A period ended.
The mood at the second meeting was markedly calmer with mixed reactions from attendees, though some residents still raised concerns about the proximity of unhoused people to their homes and the potential safety risks the program could bring.
Thursday’s meeting was led by Hope Housing Collaborative board members Patty Howard, Beth Wilson and Dr. Jennifer Polley.
A total of five Twin Cities churches are currently participating in the program, with Hope Housing in talks with three other churches that might join as well. Along with Chehalis United Methodist and St. Timothy’s, Centralia’s Immanuel Lutheran, Grace Foursquare and Harrison Square Presbyterian churches are participating.
Howard’s hope is to have eight total churches participating so each church only has to offer up its parking lot for one week every two months.
“Right now, it’s one to two weeks every two months because there are (only) five churches,” Howard said.
The goal of the program is to provide a safe parking area for up to 10 families living in their cars in a church parking lot from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Howard explained.
As for how many families actually have children in the school districts experiencing homelessness, The Chronicle contacted both districts on Friday, May 23.
According to Chehalis School District public information officer Carrina Stanton, there were 65 students in the district registered this year under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
Stanton added members of the Chehalis School Board are looking to talk with Hope Housing to learn more about the program, but no formal partnership talks have occurred yet.
In the Centralia School District, a total of 214 students from 122 families are registered McKinney-Vento students, according to Centralia School District Superintendent Lisa Grant.
That’s an increase from last year. During a March 2024 Centralia City Council meeting, Grant stated there were 188 homeless students in the district.
Grant added there was no formal partnership with Hope Housing, but the school district is aware of the safe parking program and is informing families that it will be an available option for a place to sleep at night.
“These are people who are already living in their cars … in these school districts. This gives them a safe place to sleep and access to some other services,” Howard said during Thursday’s meeting. “Those of us who are coming together to do this also have ways of connecting people to case management if they need it, food if they need it, clothing if they need it.”
Parents participating in the program will be required to undergo Washington State Patrol background checks along with signing a code of conduct contract prohibiting activities such as staying up late, drinking and drug use.
Additionally, Goebel Septic Service is working with Hope Housing to provide discounted portable toilets to use in the parking lots.
“LeMay has agreed to add whatever church is serving that particular week to their route for free to pick up the trash,” Howard added.
Despite these guardrails, some still had concerns about the program.
“I just have a question about the houses that are literally butted-up against this parking lot — his house and my house — is there gonna be a coned-off area on this side?” an attendee said during the Q&A period. “Because I have ground-level windows and I have a child in the house, and three dogs.”
One attendee was worried about a possible uptick in theft, as she stated she had already lost around $3,000 worth of both exercise equipment and yard tools, which had been stolen out of her front yard.
Another was worried the volunteers involved in the program weren’t experienced enough with working with those experiencing homelessness.
However, some during the meeting spoke out in support of the program, including one attendee who volunteered to help make sure children participating in the safe parking program were being fed.
“I own several commercial kitchens here in Lewis County that are all licensed and already inspected by the health department. I would be willing to use those and any of my food service workers to help out,” said Tim Filer, who is co-owner of McFiler’s Bar & Grill, McFiler’s Chehalis Theater and The Hub Bar and Restaurant in Centralia.
According to Hope Housing Collaborative, the goal is to start the safe parking program by this July.
A number of other areas in the Pacific Northwest have already started their own safe parking programs — along with some across the nation in cities like Denver, Colorado, Greensboro, North Carolina, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Duluth, Minnesota and several counties throughout California.
Along with the safe parking program, the Hope Housing Collaborative of Lewis County is also working on constructing the Shalom Village transitional housing community in Centralia, on top of providing access to Oxford Houses and other supportive housing.
To learn more, visit Hope Housing’s website at https://www.hopehousinglc.com/.
