- Keith, thanks for having me.
We're in Eugene, Oregon and this is St. Vincent de Paul,
has a mobile homeless program and you call it?
- The Overnight Parking Program.
- The Overnight Parking Program
and he was just telling me how it started.
You can see a couple of campers behind me.
What you don't see is this auto lot over to the left.
You wanna tell us how it happened?
- Yes.
About three, four years ago we were contacted
by a landowner who owns a trucking company.
They have vintage cars here and people were cutting
their gate and going in stealing out their radiators
and all metal and stuff that people scrap.
So they contacted us, they knew we had the program,
and so they allowed me one person at first to get out here,
and then that went well so then they allowed me three.
So they got free security and I have three families
that have safe parking.
- Right. Wow!
And you have 23 now, areas, not just--
- Not just here.
- Mobile campers--
- Right.
- But 23 areas housing how many campers do you think?
- I'd say around 50 or 60 people.
- Wow! 50 or 60 people.
I think it's gorgeous.
Mobile homeless is one of the biggest growing demographics.
People lose their apartment, well lose their job,
lose their apartment, live in their car as long as they can
so it's really growing in most communities
like, you hear about it in Venice, California,
don't know what to do.
Well here's this great, where you're actually
helping the business community
by providing free security and they give you a lot
of land or a parking lot or whatever.
But you also do case management.
You try to get them out of homelessness.
- Correct.
- So tell me about that.
Because 23 areas to drive around, that's kinda crazy.
- It is very crazy.
There's not enough hours in a day.
But on the other hand, once we get them into the program,
our organization, St. Vincent de Paul, there are many
different branches that branch out.
Whether if you're a veteran, we have veteran programs.
We can get you set up with our own low-income housing.
They can get set up to get social security, disability,
all those things that are ran out of our organization.
- Wow, in all my travels, this is the only
pro-mobile homeless outreach, inreach,
whatever you wanna call it, I've seen.
- (laughs)
- And it's great.
We just met Randy and he's got his garden
and he's been here for a while.
And gosh, more communities need to look into this.
How do people get a hold of you?
What's your website?
- It's SV, well my email address is
Keith@svdp.us.
But St. Vincent de Paul is, I guess, is stvincentdepaul.com.
- Okay. So we'll list that and if you're
a homeless service provider and you want more information
on how they run all this stuff or maybe you just,
touch your heart and you wanna give a donation
because I'm sure it takes money to--
- Yup.
- 23 lots and, oh my gosh, 50 homeless campers .
- And might I also add, my part of the program
is just for singles.
And we have at the other sight, First Place Family Center,
to deal with family and children
and I think they have about 10 spots.
- Wow. Wow, so you have 23 just for singles.
- Right.
- And then you have family--
- Family and children.
- You keep them separate.
- Correct.
- That's actually very important.
- Actually, 18 and over and then they deal
with families with children from babies up til 17.
- Oh, cool.
Well thank you very much for talking to me.
- Thank you, sir.
God bless.