There’s no doubt that being without a home is difficult, but do you want to know what makes the situation harder? It feels like you’re not welcome anywhere. Homeless folks get kicked off public park benches while they’re trying to sleep, are told to evacuate the premises of restaurant properties, and aren’t allowed to use public bathrooms in most cases. Of course, there are homeless shelters available, but most of the time, these shelters are designed to be temporary. Not to mention, homeless shelters are usually more dangerous than the streets. Plus, if they’re filled up, no new residents will be able to be allowed in.
Thankfully, a car dealer named James Charles has been providing aid to the homeless population for a few months now. By offering overnight parking in the parking lot of the business he manages, Kiplin’s Automotive Group in Charlotte, North Carolina, those living in their vehicles will have a place to park their car without worrying that they’ll get a ticket or that their vehicle will be towed away by the morning.
Charles decided to open his parking lot for nighttime parking when his repossession team tried to take back one woman’s car.
“The gentleman who was repossessing the car said, ‘We can’t take the car, there’s somebody living in the car,’” Charles said.
So, he tried to help by providing her resources to different homeless shelters in the city. Every single shelter was already completely occupied. He even paid a few nights for the woman to stay in a hotel room. But not only would continuing the kind act be very expensive, but Charles knew there were many others out there in a similar situation as the woman.
“That was really the sign we took at that time and we realized, ‘You know what? This is something we need to be more involved in.'”
January of this year, Charles made a public announcement on Facebook about allowing people to park all night in his lot.
“We would like to designate a safe place for those going through this tough time. We can’t put everyone in a hotel, but we can get you a safe place for the night,” Charles wrote. “We will provide a safe place to park at night. As this service to the community develops, we will look to help these families in other ways, but right now, a safe place is what we can offer.”
Charles recently started a GoFundMe to collect donations, so he can continue to provide a safe place for those without homes to park. Since his campaign went live on February 12, 2020, he has received $33,000 donations of his $250,000 goal.
“Any donations, no matter how small, will go towards helping homeless individuals and families who have fallen in between the cracks and need a helping hand,” the campaign read. “One hand washes the other, two hands wash the face.”
The manager of the car dealership has more to say about his kind deed. Play the video below to hear what he has to say!
