More than 4,000 students in the Cincinnati Public School System are experiencing homelessness, and approximately 300 of them are sleeping outside or in vehicles.
Project Connect, a homeless advocacy organization within the school system, has a plan to help those students and their families: It’s called a “Safe Sleep Lot,” and it’s set to open in March of 2026. It would allow families to sleep in their cars in a designated lot while they await temporary or long-term housing.
In order to get into the Cincinnati shelter system, a case worker must see a person sleeping in their car. But according to Rebeka Beach, the program manager for Project Connect, families move around a lot, making it difficult for case workers to get eyes on them. Setting up a designated place to park would allow officials to see the families and then move them into housing…