The ‘parking lot’ homeless of Santa Barbara

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This one is a bit off-topic for an L.A. housing blog, but it caught my eye: a CNN story about a woman who can’t afford to rent any longer in Santa Barbara who now lives in her car in a city-sanctioned parking lot for the homeless.

The woman, a former loan processor named Barbara Harvey, is 67 years old and lives with her dogs in a Honda SUV. ‘This is my bed, my dogs,’ she said. ‘This is my life in this car right now.’

The L.A. Times profiled parking lot residents in Santa Barbara on New Year’s Eve last year: ‘All are beneficiaries of the city-sanctioned Safe Parking program, which allows people to live -- sometimes for years -- in cars or RVs in about a dozen parking lots that belong to the city, the county, churches, nonprofits and a few businesses in industrial areas.’

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.

Photo: Boyd Grant 63, prepares to spend the night in his 31-year old GMC motor home parked at the food bank parking lot in Goleta. (L.A. Times)