The City of San Diego’s Rose Canyon Safe Parking Program, operated by Jewish Family Service of San Diego, today unveiled a newly renovated common space – created to bring comfort, connection, and a sense of home to the families staying at the site. Mayor Todd Gloria, JFS staff and community partners celebrated the transformation of this space into a warm, welcoming environment where children, youth, and parents can gather, share meals, study and simply be together as they work toward more stable housing.

SAN DIEGO – As the number of families experiencing homelessness and seeking a safe space to stay continues to rise, a proposal to launch a Safe Parking Program at the site of the former Central Elementary School in City Heights is moving forward. The San Diego Unified School District Board of Trustees voted Tuesday night to approve a license agreement with the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) to operate the proposed program at the site. On November 7, the SDHC Board of Commissioners (Board) will consider the contract with Jewish Family Service of San Diego to operate the program.

Note for Media: To maintain safety and dignity, the JFS campus is closed to media during these food distributions. If you are interested in doing

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) is assisting families with loved ones who were victims of violent crime or domestic violence as part of the new Dr. Ben Harouni’s Hope and Healing Fund. The fund, created in honor of Dr. Ben Harouni, a young dentist murdered in his El Cajon office in February 2024, is powered by a nonprofit his friends and family started shortly after his death called Hearts Over Hate.

“Ben’s death rocked the very foundation of our family. For us, grief counseling was vital as we worked to come to terms with our unimaginable loss. We know that many do not have access to that level of support,” said Hilda Harouni, Ben Harouni’s mother.

Families staying at the Rose Canyon Safe Parking lot are enjoying some upgraded amenities. Program operator Jewish Family Service (JFS) of San Diego unveiled a newly renovated common space – created to bring comfort, connection and a sense of home to the families staying at the site. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, JFS staff, and community partners celebrated the transformation of this space into a welcoming environment where children, youth, and parents can gather, share meals, study and simply be together as they work toward more stable housing.
“The City’s partnership with Jewish Family Service to operate our Safe Parking Program is delivering real results,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “Jewish Family Service sets the standard for how to pair shelter with services, transforming a safe place to sleep into a pathway to stability for families. Support from a generous community donor and nonprofit partners is helping expand this impact and demonstrates the power of partnership in reducing homelessness.”

The site, run by Jewish Family Services, shows family-friendly renovations to accommodate people using the safe parking site. Samantha Gleiberman, who had the inspiration for the project, shares “Being here at night, the kids were playing in the dark and they didn’t have a place to do their homework and the parents didn’t have a place to relax and cook family dinner.”

One of the city’s safe sleeping parking lots, run by Jewish Family Service, has just been renovated to include a new community space and various other appliances. Karla, a client on the lot, explains what it means for her family, “My kids don’t call this the JFS Safe Parking space. We call it home. My kids say, ‘We are going to go play, go do our homework.’”

A renovated community space at the JFS Rose Canyon Safe Parking Program is helping families find comfort, connection and stability as they work toward permanent housing.