For years Darrick Alexander lived in the San Diego Safe Lot with his girlfriend, Lola Cheatham, and their three daughters. The lot is part of the Safe Parking Program, one of 35 secure lots in Southern California run by charities and nonprofits and set aside each night for more than 1,500 people who sleep in their cars. Many in the lot, including Alexander, have full-time jobs. But they can’t afford housing in San Diego, one of the nation’s most expensive markets, where the median home value is $633,000 and the average rental is about $2,000 a month. In December 2018, the family found an apartment that they could afford and this documentary chronicles their journey.
Read "Navigating the booming cost of urban life" in National Geographic Magazine.Published: March 21, 2019
