CINCINNATI — With more than 4,000 Cincinnati Public Schools families experiencing homelessness each school year—many living out of their cars—district leaders are looking to turn a simple parking lot into stability, and a path to shelter.
CPS's homeless advocacy organization, Project Connect, is slated to launch the "Safe Sleep Lot" at Taft Elementary in spring 2026.
"Safe Sleep Lot is a space where families who are sleeping in their vehicles would be able to come and sleep safely during the night," Rebeka Beach, program manager, said.
WATCH: How one parking lot could change the lives of Cincinnati Public Schools families
The lot will operate 12 open spots total through Nov. 30 next year, where eligible families struggling to find stable housing can park and sleep overnight. Beach said the space is planned to include access to bathrooms, automated fencing, added foliage for privacy and a security guard for safety.
The parking lot is located near Project Connect's headquarters, which offers ample resources to families every day between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Beach said.
"We offer coats, clothing, shoes, hygiene items, food," Beach said. "We want it to really be like a one-stop shop for our families. And if our families are here, we're able to better serve them."
The Safe Sleep Lot should act as a sort of "bridge" for families, Beach said, to receiving shelter placement or, if the family meets the Department of Housing and Urban Development's definition of homelessness, a short stay in a hotel courtesy of Project Connect.
"What has become more alarming is the vulnerability of the situations that our families are in," Beach said. "We are seeing more and more families who are sleeping in their cars or outside or in areas that we consider unfit for human habitat, such as laundromats, storage units, abandoned buildings."
She said that for families to get into a shelter, an outreach worker must see for themselves and verify the family's sleeping situation, which can be difficult given the fluidity of living without housing.
"The first two times (applying for shelters), I missed them due to the fact we continuously moved in different spaces," Eboni Tremble, a CPS mother of five, said.
Back in August, Tremble and four of her kids lived in a car for more than three weeks before getting connected to resources through Project Connect.
"Some days, my kids would go to school hungry, or like, some days we couldn't take showers," she said, beginning to tear up. "I think it just affected their grades, their sleep and their mental health."
Tremble said her family has since been placed in a shelter and is doing much better.
"The impact of homelessness on learning is huge, because it is an acute childhood experience," Beach said. "When children's basic needs aren't being met, they're not in a position to learn in the same way as their peers, because they're in survival mode."
The Project Connect team traveled to multiple cities in California like San Diego and Long Beach, where similar lots operate, to cultivate ideas for how to launch one in Ohio.
"So, they helped us really to see what's possible as far as a safe sleep lot, and help us to envision what that could look like in Ohio," Megan Rahill, shelter and housing specialist for Project Connect, said. "So that we can become the first school district in the nation and the first safe sleep lot in the city."
Families will be able to stay at the lot as long as needed, Beach said, and the goal is for those who apply to get approved for the wait list within 24 hours. If you're someone interested in this future program or getting connected to other resources from Project Connect, visit their website here.
Safe Sleep Lot is set to open on March 1, 2026. Currently, Project Connect is collecting donations to put together Safe Sleep car kits. They're currently seeking items like hygiene products, gas cards, batteries, flashlights, pillows, blankets, water bottles and more. If you're interested in helping, visit its website here.
