Long Beach City College Lets Unhoused Students Sleep in Parking Lot

California’s Long Beach City College is offering up one of its parking lots to students who lack housing, providing access to restrooms, showers, and WiFi to students who need to sleep in their vehicles.

According to an article by Gail Cornwall in The Guardian, the college acknowledges this is a stopgap measure amid a much larger crisis, when nearly half of U.S. college students face housing insecurity. LBCC is one of the few colleges with an officially sanctioned and funded safe parking program, which offers students some measure of comfort and security. 

Other colleges and universities are getting creative, too, making agreements with four-year school with spare dorms, local nursing homes, or short-term rental companies to gain access to affordable student housing. “But the reality is that the majority of schools have massive holes in their nets. For the most part, colleges and universities still just create a list of resources and refer students out, suggesting they try their luck with local shelters and Craigslist.”