San Diego County opened a new overnight safe parking site in Grantville on Thursday morning. The lot will begin serving the community immediately. Those looking to use the site can arrive as early as 5:30 p.m. and must leave by 7:30 a.m. the following morning. The parking site will serve 20 families and individuals experiencing homelessness in their vehicles. The parking lot is owned by the county, and it will later become 300 units of affordable housing, expected to break ground in late 2026. “This helps people transition out of that and into a stable place to grow their lives and their families. And it’s a smart thing to do, because there’s no reason this parking lot should remain empty while we wait a few years to see 300 units or so come online here for seniors,” San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo said. Until it’s time to break ground, the lot will provide more than just a safe place to sleep. Dreams for Change, a nonprofit offering cost-effective programs for unhoused individuals, will manage the parking site. The nonprofit will help individuals find more stable housing options and connect them with employment and health services. Bathrooms, as well as dinner and a continental breakfast, will also be available. According to Teresa Smith, chief executive officer for Dreams for Change, the lot will likely reach capacity in just a few days. Thursday morning, Dreams for Change was joined by the county’s Office of Homeless Solutions director Dijana Beck, County Supervisor Joel Anderson, United States Rep. Sara Jacobs and San Diego City Council member Raul Campillo to announce the site. The parking lot is in both Campillo and Jacobs’ districts. “Here, people have access to bathrooms and daily meals and case managers. Here, people have safety and stability and dignity and hope,” Jacobs said. The Grantville parking site is just one part of a broader county-wide effort to expand emergency housing options for people experiencing homelessness. The county has opened similar sites in Spring Valley and El Cajon, which, according to Beck, have served more than 260 individuals so far. Roughly 52% of the people staying in the El Cajon and Spring Valley safe parking sites have transitioned to permanent housing, Anderson said. The overnight safe parking lot is not the only county program, though. The county also offers a program that uses hotels and motels as emergency housing. Roughly 40% of people in the program have transitioned to permanent housing, said Beck. “Everyone’s journey to homelessness looks different, and their way out of homelessness also looks very different. So it is important, based on feedback that we received from our community, including people with lived experience, is that we have different options,” Beck said.