What If H Barracks Was Open All Day?

Four years ago, researchers found that if the city opened a safe parking lot for 24 hours every day, it would be easier to connect individuals who live in their vehicles to services. 

Those findings encouraged city officials to make a safe parking lot in Mission Valley available 24 hours a day. That meant people staying at the lot didn’t have to leave during the day and could access services with more flexibility.  

Other city safe parking lots have curfews, which means people staying there need to leave during the day and return at night. That’s the case at a safe lot near the airport, known as H Barracks. The city is currently in a legal battle with homeless individuals over the lot’s accessibility.    

One of the researchers involved in the previous study of city safe lots still believes it’s more effective to open lots for 24 hours every day. City officials maintain that H Barracks is working as is and are not considering changing its operation hours. Homeless advocates say extended hours could help, but San Diegans living in their cars aren’t sure. 

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Stacey Livingstone, a post-doctoral who works at the UCSD homeless hub, said that in general, 24-hour safe parking allows users more flexibility and access to social services during the day.  

Livingstone was part of a group of academics who did a study on city safe parking lots with curfews run by the nonprofit Jewish Family Service (JFS) safe parking programs in 2022. 

The study found that for approximately 69 percent of safe parking users, it was their first experience of homelessness over the prior three years. 

“Something we heard over and over again is like people just never thought it could happen to them until it happened to them, until they were getting into their car,” said Livingstone in an interview with Voice of San Diego. 

Livingstone said some people who were survivors of domestic violence, for example, had to connect with lots of services. This included getting documents, applying for subsidized childcare, or finding transitional housing. She said it didn’t make sense for these users to leave first thing in the morning. 

“There’s so much that they could be doing during the day with the case manager to get ready to move on,” she said. “To do the next thing they have to do for their stability.” 

She also said some users don’t have traditional nine to five jobs and can’t make it in time for a curfew. Others like seniors live on a fixed income and can’t afford the gas money to move in and out of the lot each day.  

“If you’re driving around just trying to meet your basic needs, it would be a lot less hectic if they’re being met on a 24-hour lot,” she said. 

Based on the study’s findings and recommendations, city officials expanded the hours at a safe parking lot in Mission Valley to be open all day. 

Matt Hoffman, a city spokesperson, said that overnight parking is effective at transitioning people to housing – at times more effective than 24-hour lots. 

Data from fiscal year 2025 shows that more people from a safe parking lot with a curfew left to permanent housing, compared to a 24-hour lot. Twenty-three percent of users left a lot in Serra Mesa, which is open for overnight use only, while 14 percent of users left the 24-hour Mission Valley lot, according to city data.  

Data shows that between July 1, 2025, and Jan. 31, 2026, 424 people enrolled in the H Barracks safe parking program and city staff made more than 500 referrals to the lot.  

As of early March, 108 vehicles are currently enrolled at H Barracks. Hoffman said there could be more than one person per vehicle. 

Not everyone ends up going to H Barracks if they’re referred. Hoffman said each time a cop approaches a person they offer them a place at safe parking to avoid a ticket, even if they have already approached them before and previously referred them to H Barracks.  

Operators at the lot accommodate people’s work schedules for later entry into a safe parking lot, but Hoffman said they can’t force people to go to the lots.   

Hoffman said between the time the city opened H Barracks and late January, 45 individuals have left for temporary housing and 44 individuals have left for permanent or other long-term housing. 

City officials have repeatedly said having H Barracks open all day “is not the goal of the program.” 

“With looming state and federal cuts to homelessness programs, and the fact that overnight-only lots have proven to be effective to get people into housing, changing operations at H Barracks is not under consideration at this time,” said Hoffman in an email statement.  

Jennifer Mytinger, 41, said that so far, the city’s safe parking program hasn’t worked for her. Mytinger works two jobs and lives out of her small black car with her boyfriend Sean and her dog, Daisy Duke. They often park in Mission Bay, where during the day they won’t get tickets and can use public bathrooms and showers. 

When she’s not working as a caretaker, she works as a nanny. She said opportunities to nanny will often come up in the evenings when safe parking lots like H Barracks are open.  

“Like 6 p.m. that’s a really early time for me to not be out, then a lot of times I work late for my boss,” she said. “If she wants to go on a date night, those are extra hours for me and I’m not gonna not pick them up, right?” 

Mytinger said she tried using the 24-hour lot at Mission Valley. However, she lost her spot after missing three evenings because she left to stay with her mother.  

Sixty-one-year-old Jodi DeRov also lives out her van with her 83-year-old mother and often stays in Mission Bay. They are both disabled and get about $3,500 a month from social security. DeRov said the money is not enough to pay rent and keep up with other expenses.  

Four years ago, they fled a domestic violence situation and have been homeless ever since, she said.  

DeRov said city officials offered them a spot at H Barracks but it didn’t work for her and her mom. They did the intake process, but after learning about the different rules and curfew decided not to go.  

“ The rules were too strict. That and we’re both disabled. It’s just hard for us to get around,” she said in an interview with Voice. 

DeRov said she would consider using the safe parking program if it was open 24 hours a day. 

“That would be more inviting, yes,” said DeRov. But she was still torn about the rules. 

Ann Menasche, an attorney who represents people living in their vehicles, said H Barracks is not easily accessible for her clients. Many of them have disabilities or are seniors living on fixed incomes. 

For that, she took legal action against the city for not making H Barracks “reasonably available.” 

In the legal filings, she also makes the case for improvements to the 24-hour Mission Valley lot, like adding shade and making the space ADA friendly.  

She said that although she doesn’t believe conditions are good at the Mission Valley lot, people are still willing to go to the lot to avoid tickets. 

“I thought they learned the lesson the last time, that if they wanna get the RV population or at least a significant number of them, it’s gonna need to be 24 hours,” said Menasche in an interview with Voice.  

While Menasche said H Barracks does not work for all her clients, extending the hours would help.  

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