Cincinnati Public Schools' Project Connect is getting ready to open a Safe Sleep parking lot at Taft Elementary that will give families sleeping in their cars a guarded place to stay overnight while staff work to move them quickly into shelter or other housing. The pilot will be small, roughly a dozen spaces, and will include showers, a kitchenette and overnight security when it launches. District and nonprofit staff stress that the lot is meant as a short-term bridge to shelter, not a long-term fix.
New opening date after schedule shifts
The district now expects the lot to open April 30, after earlier timelines pushed the launch from March into April, as reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer. CPS officials told the paper the later date gives partners more time to finish fencing, utilities and the on-site services that are set to run through the warmer months.
What will be on site
The lot will sit on Taft Elementary's property in Mount Auburn and, once fully set up, will offer 12 parking spaces and a small building with two showers and two toilets, plus a kitchenette with a microwave and water cooler, according to CityBeat. Project Connect also plans to keep a freezer stocked with meals from the Freestore Foodbank's Cincinnati COOKS program and to distribute sleep kits that include blankets and pillows.
How families will get shelter priority
Project Connect staff will verify whether families are experiencing homelessness and then place eligible households on a priority shelter wait list, with a goal of completing verification and referrals within about 24 hours, WCPO reports. CPS says the lot will have a locked gate and overnight security to keep families safe and to ensure the area is cleared before school starts each morning.
Numbers behind the move
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce reports that 25,550 students statewide were identified as experiencing homelessness during the 2023–24 school year, highlighting the scale of the issue. Locally, Project Connect counted more than 4,300 CPS students without stable housing last year, a figure reported by WVXU, which helps explain why the district is testing a temporary lot model.
Advocates call it a temporary patch
Project Connect manager Rebeka Beach has described the lot as a stopgap. "On any given night we're expecting to have three or four cars," she told reporters, adding that staff will work to move families into hotels or shelters as openings become available. Beach also noted that Project Connect can refer roughly 200 families a year for housing vouchers through the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, but finding landlords and units that accept those vouchers remains a major hurdle, CityBeat reported.
How to get help or give help
Families in immediate need are urged to call 513-381-SAFE (7233). The Project Connect WRAP Center operates Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 270 Southern Ave, and the program also fields a direct line for housing navigation at (513) 363-5670, according to Cincinnati Public Schools. Volunteers are collecting sleep-kit and hygiene donations, including blankets, pillows, window covers, flashlights and toiletries, WVXU reports.
Project Connect and shelter partners emphasize that the lot is a bridge, not a full solution. It is meant to keep children safer and cleaner on school mornings while outreach workers and housing systems look for placements. Long-term change, they say, will require more affordable housing and more landlords willing to accept vouchers.
