Craig Curry

He said he was sharing an apartment in San Diego when he was given 60 days to vacate after the building was sold to a new landlord in August. His roommate found an apartment that didn’t have room for him, he said, but luckily he had bought a car in January. 

Curry now falls asleep in his four-door sedan to the sounds of cars whirring on Interstate 94. He parks in a “safe” parking lot run by Dreams for Change, a homeless services provider.

The first safe lot opened in San Diego in 2010. The city adopted and expanded the program in 2018 to counter the ongoing housing crisis while trying to connect people like Curry to housing.

Losing a vehicle is one of the final steps into chronic homelessness, according to an annual report from Dreams for Change.

“If it wasn't for [my car], if I hadn't bought this before I left, I really would have been in trouble,” Curry said. His monthly $682 Social Security check doesn’t cover rent in San Diego, where the median rent is $2,035.

Curry says he suffers from degenerative disc disease in his back and osteoporosis in his hips, which sometimes cause immobilizing pain that makes it hard to work. But for now, Curry said he plans to live in his car to save money to drive back East next spring. He said he wants to be closer to his daughter and grandchildren.