{"id":604200,"date":"2026-02-20T20:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/604200\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T20:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:24:15","slug":"theres-a-parking-lot-full-of-rvs-in-south-la-its-part-of-the-las-effort-to-fight-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/604200\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a parking lot full of RVs in South LA. It\u2019s part of the LA’s effort to fight homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story<\/a> was originally published by The LA Local on Feb. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

In an old asphalt parking lot off of Crenshaw Boulevard, L.A. County homelessness officials have been testing out their first RV-based transitional housing program.<\/p>\n

For some of the residents of the 11 RVs parked in the South L.A. lot today, it\u2019s the closest thing to stable housing they\u2019ve had in years.<\/p>\n

The 24-hour, 14-spot RV safe parking lot is a unique, albeit tiny, component of the county\u2019s massive homeless service ecosystem, tailored specifically to RV dwellers who aren\u2019t ready to relinquish their vehicles.<\/p>\n

Learn the ins and outs behind L.A.’s housing crisis.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe got everything. We got water. We got restrooms. People are so nice,\u201d said Mikolaj Marciniak, who has been living with his partner in an aging RV for over a year. \u201cSometimes all you need is a little bit of help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The RV safe parking lot program has guided a dozen RV dwellers to permanent housing in its nearly first year of operation, a result that\u2019s convinced L.A. County officials to keep the program rolling at least another year.<\/p>\n

More than 72,000 people are homeless on a given night in L.A. County and RVs are the most common type of shelter for people living outdoors, according to the county\u2019s 2025 count, with nearly 6,300 counted across the county last year.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mikolaj Marciniak stands in his RV, parked in LA County\u2019s RV safe parking lot. The transitional housing program has helped connect a dozen people to permanent housing.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Isaiah Murtaugh<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

Residents of the RV safe parking lot get access to a mobile bathroom unit, a stocked outdoor kitchenette and a few pieces of exercise equipment. Marciniak told The LA Local before he moved to the lot, RV life was difficult, with neighbors wanting him and his partner to move along. Twice, he said, their tires were slashed.<\/p>\n

But in the fenced lot, he said, life is calmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are protected,\u201d said Marciniak, who moved to the U.S. from his native Ukraine in 2020. \u201cYou feel [that] you belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple has been living in the RV lot less than a year and is already looking for a permanent apartment through a housing voucher program.<\/p>\n

Since the program began, nine of the RV safe lot\u2019s residents have moved into permanent housing, with three more on their way, according to Mel Tillekeratne, executive director of Shower of Hope. The nonprofit provides case management for residents and helps connect them with medical and housing services.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about removing a RV off the street,\u201d Tillekeratne said. \u201cIt\u2019s making sure the person in there, whether it\u2019s a senior, a young couple, that they go somewhere safe, and they\u2019re happy and they don\u2019t have to worry about homelessness again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RVs<\/p>\n

RVs line up in an RV safe parking lot in South LA.<\/p>\n

(<\/p>\n

Isaiah Murtaugh<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

The LA Local<\/p>\n

)<\/p>\n

The lot, outside a vacant former county probation office, is not a permanent installation. The county is finalizing plans to extend the program by another year with funding from the county\u2019s Measure A homeless service and affordable housing sales tax<\/a>, according to Isela Gracian, senior deputy on homelessness and housing for L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is more need. The challenge is that people believe it\u2019s too high of a cost for the number of people it serves,\u201d Gracian said. \u201cSometimes we need to have a program that\u2019s a bit more expensive if it meets the needs of the people it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell, said Gracian, does not want to be part of the \u201cwhack-a-mole\u201d game of shuffling RVs from block to block as residents and businesses call with concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe true solution is having homes\u201d Gracian said. \u201cThe additional outcome is improvement to the physical environment for communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The budget for this year\u2019s Measure A revenue was sorted out early this month. County supervisors will hold a hearing on the rest of the budget for the county\u2019s new homeless services and housing department on Feb. 27.<\/p>\n

This year is the first for the L.A. County Homeless Services and Housing<\/a> department, created after the county voted to pull back hundreds of millions in funding for the regional L.A. Homeless Service Authority<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gracian said the county is still sorting out how the new department will work. It will take over the bulk of the former LAHSA funding this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally published by The LA Local on Feb. 20, 2026. In an old asphalt parking…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":604201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,7265,2961,20362,224,5337,259999,1085,260000,7617],"class_list":["post-604200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-homelessness","tag-la","tag-la-county","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-parked-rvs","tag-resources","tag-rv-parking-lot","tag-south-la"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116104833705019739","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}