Project Connect, the homeless advocacy organization within Cincinnati Public Schools, plans to open a secure overnight parking lot in 2026 for students and their families who are living out of their cars.
Called the "Safe Sleep Lot," the space will open March 1, 2026, with 12 spots located outside Taft Elementary School in Mt. Auburn. Project Connect says the lot will be open to the families it serves and will have on-site bathrooms, access to food and hygiene products, and overnight security.
During the 2024-2025 school year, Project Connect identified 4,326 students attending public or charter schools in Cincinnati who are without stable housing, and says a growing number are living in their vehicles.
During that time period, Project Connect provided multi-day hotel stays for 355 students and their families. While the brief hotel stays can help families, Program Manager Rebeka Beach says too many families don't transition to more stable housing after they check out. Instead, they often fall back into homelessness, which is why the organization is offering a new alternative.
"We are happy to provide the emergency hotel stays, but they're not necessarily an answer," she told WVXU. "If that family doesn't get into the shelter, then they return to their car, or to [another] unhoused situation."
How the Safe Sleep Lot works
Beach says the idea behind the lot is to offer families a safer option than sleeping in unauthorized locations around the city. People sleeping in their cars are often stopped by law enforcement or may be asked to move their vehicle several times throughout the night, interrupting sleep and limiting their ability to perform in the classroom or on the job.
When staying at the lot, families can overnight for as many nights as they need, without those interruptions. They'll also be sleeping directly outside Project Connect's new headquarters at Taft, which can help connect them to more stable housing opportunities, public assistance, and provide them with new clothing and other items.
In early 2025, Beach and Project Connect's housing specialist traveled to Southern California to observe examples of other sleep lots hosted by charitable organizations and a community college, before drawing up the idea for one in Cincinnati.
"We visited two lots in San Diego, and one lot in Long Beach, and all were slightly different models, but we took something from each of them," Beach said. "One model was actually really cool, where they had FEMA trailers donated, so families got to sleep in the FEMA trailers."
She says one day, she would like to see trailers made available to families in need in the school district, but for now, the car lot is the most practical option.
Ohio's weather also presents a challenge that organizations in sunny California don't have to deal with. The safe lot at Taft won't operate during the winter. It will close for the season Nov. 30, 2026, and families staying in the lot will transition to another housing option with help from Project Connect if they're still looking for permanent housing.
Ahead of the sleep lot's opening in March, Beach says the organization is putting together supply kits for families who will be staying there. She says what's most needed right now is hygiene products, like deodorant.
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