By Casey Mosbacher, SCS Intern
When the general public imagines the epitome of an unhoused individual, they think of an image of someone in a tent, a sleeping bag, or simply setting up on the beach with a couple of bags to their name. Despite the common perception, many of the guests served at the Compass Station live in their vehicle. In 2025 an estimated 771,480 (Soucey et. al., 2025) people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on a single night, and of that number roughly 40% of them are living in vehicles (Nest Community Center, 2024). What are the hidden struggles of the day to day for someone living in their car? Where is their experience the same or different from others living on the streets?
Similar to the entire homeless population, living in a car takes a massive strain on both one’s mental and physical state. Physically, sitting in a car for hours and laying in cramped quarters creates a lot of joint and back pain. Mentally, the claustrophobic nature of a car, especially when it holds a lot of belongings or other people or pets, can get to a person, leaving them feeling constrained and frustrated. Car dwellers also experience increased incidence of anxiety due to questions of personal safety, privacy, and the compounding shame of their situation. None of this is to mention the legality and fiscal restraints, many cities, San Diego included, have made living in a car extremely difficult and strategic, leaving individuals on their toes about their next ticket, towing, or registration check. A lot of these stressors are, ironically, also the benefits of a car over having no shelter: the appeal of more privacy, space, a locked shelter, and less likelihood of attacks pulls people toward keeping their cars, yet they come with a handful of cons.
Having a space to go back to with privacy, organization, and storage is a privilege many other unhoused individuals do not have. But that does not mean that these people are in a better financial position or that they do not harbor many of the same struggles. Personal hygiene, availability of restrooms, keeping food, cooking food, and finding employment are all still burdensome and inaccessible for most vehicular dwellers. They still experience the mental/emotional strain of shame and judgment from greater society
Cars come with a cost burden that others experiencing homelessness don’t experience. There is a constant need for money to sustain their shelter, insurance, tags, gas, car battery, repairs, and protection from extreme heat or extreme cold.
The City of San Diego has in recent years, following suit with other large cities like Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, doubled down on restrictions on free and overnight parking. This creates additional barriers for the homeless population, making their existence harder than it already is. If you look around at public parking through the city, the signs say “habitation in vehicles prohibited from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.” This is a peculiar concept considering that there are hundreds of parked vacant vehicles that are allowed to take up the space. Various guests at the Compass Station have been fined, ticketed, and towed out of their parking spot in recent months due to this new ordinance, and cops shine their high beams at 6 a.m., sounding over a megaphone to all those inhabiting their cars to leave. This implementation coincides with the introduction of a “safe parking lot” near the San Diego airport where individuals can stay only from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning, at a capacity of 190 parking spaces (Jewish Family Service of San Diego, 2026). As of 2018, there were 1,262 individuals living in their car. That was years ago, before the pandemic, so it is likely that this number has increased. So the cyclical nature continues: “get on your feet,” but pay this ticket; “get on your feet,” but use all of your gas and money getting to this “safe parking lot.”
Cars are also the likely route of people experiencing new or temporary homelessness, where their family shares the space as they get back on their feet. This restriction to designated areas like the parking lot is very harmful. A child has school and the parents have to work in areas far from the specific “safe parking” zone, this distance can disrupt routines and create additional stress. It actually perpetuates the shame and barriers and harms the ability to keep their standard day-to-day life. These parking lots don’t take away the stress of parking; it feels restrictive, controlling, and like a lost autonomy that the car once provided.
Shoreline Community Services works to make these areas of life easier for our guests through showers, public restrooms, food, and helps connect our Guests to various vehicle assistance programs. Vehicles For Change helps repair and maintain their vehicles with low-cost service and also has a job training program for justice-involved individuals who are interested in becoming a Certified Automotive Technician. Another resource we work with is Homeless Court Homeless Court through our partner PATH which helps Guests with parking citations, and vehicle fines and fees. Lastly, Shoreline can directly help our Guests obtain car registration through our Car Registration Assistance Program.
References
Harry. (2024, June 10). Hidden Homelessness: When Your Car is Your Home. Nest Community Shelter. https://nestcommunityshelter.org/hidden-homelessness-when-your-car-is-your-home/
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2025, September 4). State of Homelessness: 2025 Edition – National Alliance to End Homelessness. https://endhomelessness.org/state-of-homelessness/#report
Nguyen, A., & Nguyen, A. (2019, February 6). San Diego repeals ordinance banning sleeping in a vehicle. Times of San Diego. https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2019/02/05/san-diego-repeals-ordinance-banning-sleeping-in-a-vehicle/
Robbins, K. (2023, July 13). Vehicular homelessness is rapidly rising. Invisible People. https://invisiblepeople.tv/vehicular-homelessness-is-rising-rapidly/
Robbins, K. (2026, January 29). Los Angeles moves to destroy RVs used as homes under new state law. Invisible People. https://invisiblepeople.tv/los-angeles-moves-to-destroy-rvs-used-as-homes-under-new-state-law/
Staff, U. I. (2026, February 9). Cars as housing: Vehicular homelessness in Los Angeles County. UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. https://www.its.ucla.edu/project/cars-as-housing/#:~:text=Few%20scholars%20have%20studied%20the,vans%2C%20RVs)%20for%20shelter
The Connection at St Martin’s. (2024, July 23). Sleeping in Your Car – The Connection at St Martin’s. https://www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk/news-item/life-in-a-car/
Jewish Family Service of San Diego. (2026, January 9). Safe Parking Program – JFSSD. JFSSD. https://www.jfssd.org/our-services/adults-families/safe-parking-program/