More than 16,000 in CA live in their cars. Can a new parking program keep them safe?

California has more than 16,500 homeless people who live in their cars, according to new data from the Los Angeles homeless count.

Lauren Kush, a 36-year-old Uber driver in Los Angeles, is one of them. She sleeps in the back seat of her Toyota Prius at night and starting living there once she could no longer afford rent, CNN reported.

A nonprofit called Safe Parking LA has started offering designated parking spots. It gives a “safe and stable place to park the vehicle, remain compliant with local laws, and have access to restroom facilities.”

Kush started parking her car in one of the designated spots, where there’s a security guard to monitor the space.

“I don’t have to worry about being raped,” Kush told CNN. “I don’t have to be worried about being robbed in the middle of the night.”

California accounts for 30 percent of all homeless people in the US, according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development report released on Dec. 20. The state’s housing issues also contributed to the 2.7 increase of homeless people in the country.

“I wasn’t surprised to see that more people are moving into their vehicles, because rents are growing faster than income,” Va Lecia Adams Kellum, president of St. Joseph’s Center, told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s families who are still working but had to make the sad choice of moving into their cars.”