Community Outreach: Getting to YIMBY

Every safe parking lot needs community support.

When creating a safe parking lot, an important first step is helping neighbors of the potential lot to understand that the people who will be living there are unhoused neighbors who are part of the community and who deserve compassion and kindness.

Helpful Tips

Here are some tips for helping your community shift a NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) attitude to YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard).

  • Frame the challenge as a “community crisis,” not a “homelessness crisis.”

  • Describe people as “experiencing homelessness,” rather than becoming “the homeless. Each person is more than their experience of homelessness

  • Do what you can to dispel stereotypes and myths about people experiencing homelessness:

    • People who are without homes do want housing.

    • The primary causes of homelessness are economic pressures. Mental illness and substance abuse are not primary causes (though they may make exiting homelessness more difficult).

    • Many people experiencing homelessness have jobs.

  • Involve people who have experienced homelessness and, if possible, current residents of the surrounding community in crafting and sharing your messages.

    • Ask questions like:

      • What makes this community unique?

      • What do you love about this community?

      • How can your community help people in need?

  • Craft digestible messages.

    • Safe parking lots are safe for the guests and the surrounding community.

    • Safe parking lots help people get back into housing.

  • Help neighbors to see people living in their vehicles as individuals with problems we all could be facing.

    • Encourage community members to be “messengers of kindness”—say hello and get to know people experiencing homelessness.

  • Consider how to best deliver messages.

    • How do neighbors share information (e.g., Nextdoor.com, local newspaper/newsletter, word-of-mouth)?

    • Who do neighbors listen to? Is there a key community leader who can be an ambassador for your project?

  • Be ready to respond when people raise concerns.

    • Convene a group of allies, including neighbors, to plan how you will respond to concerns raised both during the process of creating the safe lot and after it is created.

Helpful Documents

Designing for Health Dignity and Joy
Pages 24 – 27

Yes, In My Backyard: Building ADUs to Address Homelessness
Pages 35 – 39