XPost: alt.survival

Looks like the Summit County "community" is merely normalizing a Third
World economy with huge disparities in wealth. Cars in a parking lot is
one step removed from Favellas / slums / ghettos for people who hold
full time jobs but are grossly underpaid. Note the tone of the article
that condescendingly says "these people belong in the community and
deserve a right to live in their cars." Interpretation: Employers are unwilling to pay a living wage so want to project a feeling of "caring"
for their serfs.

https://www.denver7.com/about/community-affairs/denver7-your-voice/parking-lot-living-is-this-communitys-solution-to-expensive-summit-county-housing-denver7-your-voice

A safe parking program, with vetting and local government support,
"allows" residents a chance to live where they work.

FRISCO, Colo. — Surrounded by stunning beauty, world-class resorts and
luxury homes, Paul Minjares lives out of his Toyota Rav-4.

“When I tell people I'm sleeping in it, they're like, ‘There's no way,’”
he told Denver7. “And then I show them, and they see a full mattress in there.

“The housing crisis here in Breckenridge and Summit County just got so
bad, I just got fed up with it.”

Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
Minjares uses a generator that's hooked up to an alternator charger
connected to his car’s battery, so it recharges as he drives. His
passenger seat is home to a microwave, a cooking pot, and running water.
He uses a collapsible board that functions as a sink.

His backseat and trunk space now fit his mattress, a 4k TV, a
PlayStation 5 and 5G Internet.

“It's just like my bedroom,” Minjares explained. “I just have everything I need to unwind at night and enjoy movies or play video games or read,
do whatever I need to do."

Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
Minjares uses local recreation centers to shower, and in the winter, his
cooler that functions as a refrigerator is swapped out for a
diesel-powered heater that allows him to sleep in shorts even in frigid temperatures. He also rents a storage unit for extra space for
off-season clothes and outdoor gear like his mountain bikes and snowboards.

“Since I'm not paying like a $1,300 rent for just one room, I have money
to spend on those things,” he said.

This summer, Denver7 | Your Voice has been diving into the issue of
affordable housing in Frisco and Summit County. You can find our
previous coverage here:

New middle-income apartment complex coming for workers in Frisco with
help from state partnership
With affordable housing 'like winning the lottery,' Frisco leaders
weighing changes: Denver7 | Your Voice
Housing affordability is a mile-high challenge in Colorado's mountains:
Denver7 | Your Voice
Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
Nonprofit’s parking program gives residents refuge
Minjares said rising rents and an explosion of short-term rentals pushed
him out of housing in the area several times.

In 2021, he joined the Safe Parking Program run by nonprofit Unsheltered
In Summit. For $75 a month, the program offers people a safe overnight
parking space, along with a portable bathroom cleaned a couple of times
a week and a dumpster for trash.

Jeremy Maas, a member of the program and a host for some of the
program’s parking lots, said living out of his Chrysler minivan is “peaceful.”

“Not having to deal with roommates, saving on rent,” he said. “It's just nice having somewhere to park, like, not in a parking lot, like at
Walmart. Where I know all these people, and we have a bathroom, a clean bathroom, and trash, you know. So I'm grateful for it. It's awesome.”

Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
Maas said working as a host involves "making sure people park in the lot
that should be there," as well as cleaning up trash and shoveling snow
in the winter.

Minjares now works for the nonprofit as a parking lot host and the
intake manager.

To become a new member, applicants need to go through a background check
and an in-person interview.

“We have to make sure they're employed in the county, too,” Minjares
said. “We take all these steps to make sure that everyone is safe,
everyone's a good person in this program.”

Diane Luellen, director of Unsheltered in Summit’s board, said the idea started through the Summit Colorado Interfaith Council before the
nonprofit formed on its own.

“We started in 2019 with about six people, and now we serve probably a
total of 65 people,” she said, noting the program’s busiest time is
during the winter when ski resorts drive lots of activity and more
seasonal workers.

Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
Luellen said the program would serve more people if it had more space to
park. For now, the program rotates between different parking lots in the
Town of Frisco, including the marina, library, and middle school during
summer break.

“Our long-term goal is to find land that we can actually lease from
somebody that we will have total control of, so that we can put in
minimal infrastructure,” Luellen told Denver7. “We will be able to offer folks 24/7 access. And that we can house at least 50 people.”

Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
Currently, program participants have a place to park overnight but
cannot stay parked throughout the day. Minjares and Maas told Denver7
that’s not a problem, since those in the program are generally busy
working or recreating outdoors during the day.

Local law enforcement and Frisco town leaders work with the nonprofit
and see the program as a solution.

“We want a safe place for people who are in that situation, living out
of their vehicle and working in the community, to be able to be able to
be here,” Frisco Town Manager Tom Fisher told Denver7 last month.
“They're an important part of our workforce.”

Minjares agrees.

“These are hardworking people that belong in the community,” he said. “This helps keep… people employed… Because if people can't find a place to stay, guess what? They move somewhere else.”

Frisco living in cars
Denver7's Anaya Salcedo
This community wants to live and work in the area, and they are willing
to sacrifice some space and convenience in order to have that chance.

“We don't have an answer to the housing crisis, and I don't know when we will, but I think this is a good solution,” said Minjares.



--
First we will destroy your identity. Then we will teach you your past
was evil. You will conclude yourself that your inheritance, your
homeland, your ancestors and your people are underserving of it all.
Then we will complete your dispossession and dissolve you into the final
phase of the Kalergi Plan.

https://www.globalgulag.us

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