Safe Park Indy

Check us out on the front page of the The Indianapolis Star today!

Welcome Safe Park Indy’s FIRST employee, Sarah Wong! Sarah will serve as our client coordinator. Sarah has worked in harm reduction with social service organizations in Indianapolis for several years. She’s also an advocate and peer recovery coach. As a person with lived experience with homelessness, she looks forward to being of service to our participants and meeting them where they are. We are honored to have her expertise to help our clients. Sarah, welcome to the team!

Did you catch the The Indianapolis Star feature about our program and clients this week? It's a wonderful look at the face of vehicular homelessness in Indiana. Thank you to our clients for sharing their stories! https://lnkd.in/gknEMXZP.

And that’s a wrap on night one! We welcomed our first group of clients yesterday evening, and thanks to the generosity of the community and YOU, they were thrilled with the respite and peace we were able to provide. Just a few things we overheard tonight: “Honey, they have razors! Thank God for razors!” (Giggling) “This is so great I don’t even know how to act!” “I’m going to sleep so good tonight.” One client was thrilled to be able to have a box of tampons. They all loved the giant, fuzzy blankets. People ate so much food. They had coffee. They connected with our amazing friends at the Indy Hunger Network who so graciously came out and gave individual counsel to our clients, coaching them through applying for benefits and finding food. On behalf of our board (pictured here) and our clients — thank you. Let’s do it again tonight. ❤️🚙 #safeparking #safepark #homelessness #housing #shelter #unsheltered #homeless #homelessoutreach #endhomelessness #homelessshelter #safeparkindy #unhoused #vehicularhomelessness #vehicularhomeless #housingfirst #housingisahumanright #housingforall #homelessnothopeless

We're hiring for our first role! The part-time check-in coordinator is an incredibly important position working on-site at our lot (on the northeast side of Indianapolis). You'll be the first face our unhoused clients see every evening at check-in. You'll get to know them, make notes of their needs, and help inform the evolution of our program as we expand and grow. Learn more and apply at our website. https://lnkd.in/gKknNG74

We have 100 people on our waitlist. 😳 That means 100 Hoosiers are driving the streets at night, hoping to maybe pull into a store parking lot and catch a bit of fitful sleep before they’re asked to move along. That’s just not acceptable. The demand for a safe lot is high, and we’d love to expand. If you or someone you know has a business, organization or place of worship with a parking lot that goes unused at night, let’s connect and talk about what it means to be a lot host. It’s easy! We can even connect you with our first lot host so they can share their experience with you. —Lot hosts must have at least 10 open parking spots for clients —Lot hosts must allow us to have a porta-potty on the lot Ideally, a lot host also has an indoor space our clients can use during check-in and check-out hours, such as indoor restrooms or a conference room to charge their devices. Lot hosts don’t pay for anything: we supply the porta-potty and the volunteers to run the program. We even have our own liability insurance! We just need to borrow your space. Spread the word and let’s move some people OFF the waitlist. Contact us via the website today — safeparkindy.org. #safeparking #safepark #homelessness #housing #shelter #unsheltered #homeless #homelessoutreach #endhomelessness #homelessshelter #safeparkindy #unhoused #vehicularhomelessness #vehicularhomeless #housingfirst #housingisahumanright #housingforall #homelessnothopeless

Announcing our founding board! We're thrilled to have a slate of brilliant women with diverse backgrounds to bring our organization to life. Please meet: Elizabeth Friedland, APR, global corporate communications leader with more than 20 years of experience in the field; she's also our founder and executive director. Molly Connor, storyteller, content creator, ally and advocate -- and world champion networker. Emily Wachner, Yale-educated Episcopal priest, medical student, and public health advocate conducting outreach with unhoused communities. Monica Miller, PharmD, MS, pharmacist and clinical professor, and global health advocate leading projects in Kenya and beyond. Keri H., former director of fair housing and entrepreneur/business owner Teresa Greenwood, outreach worker with the homeless community in Indianapolis and animal lover. Megan Stuart, attorney providing direct services and advocacy to low-income and homeless populations. Read more about our Board here: https://lnkd.in/gKknNG74

Thank you to Mirror Indy for covering the launch of our organization -- the first and only safe parking organization in the state of Indiana. In just one week, we'll welcome our first clients! https://lnkd.in/gzwHhYUE #homeless #homelessness #nonprofit

We are THRILLED to begin welcoming clients to our first safe parking lot on October 1. Hoosiers living in their cars due to homelessness will be able to access indoor restrooms; a community space to charge their devices, eat, work or relax; hygiene amenities; and food/snacks -- in addition to being able to rest easy in our safe lot. We need volunteers to help us check in clients every evening, and we need donors to make our mission come alive. To learn more about volunteer opportunities, to donate, or to get help, visit https://lnkd.in/gKknNG74 #homelessness #homeless #nonprofit #housing #affordablehousing #volunteering #volunteerism

Welcome our newest board members, Keri H. and Teresa Greenwood! Keri is the former director of fair housing testing and is now an entrepreneur and business owner. Teresa has built a career in street outreach with homeless shelters in the Indianapolis area. We're so grateful for their expertise as a wonderful additions to the Board!