Barb Balden lives in her vehicle on the streets of Ballard. She works but can't afford rent and homeless shelters are full.

It's a noisy and difficult arrangement – parking enforcement officials target and harass homeless people, having to move her vehicle every 72 hours uses up her gas supply, and there are few places left to park due the the proliferation of "No Parking 2 a.m. to 5 a.m." signs, she said.

Ballard Homes for All Coalition, started by State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson in 2007, is launching the Congregation-Hosted Safe Parking for People Living in Vehicles project to create a safe place for homeless people to park their vehicles and have access to restrooms, waste disposal and showers.

"Everybody has to be someplace," Sally Kinney, a member of the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness, said at the first meeting for the project June 3. "Even though we don't like the idea of people living in vehicles, we have to give them someplace to live."

The Safe Parking project is reaching out to 34 Ballard-area churches and religious organizations to convince them to host a small number of car campers on their property.

Each congregation's involvement would depend on how much they are able to do. Ballard Homes for All Coalition has identified three levels of possible car camping programs:

• Basic level: One or two vehicles allowed on the parking lot. No other services provided.
• Medium level: Car campers allowed to use outside water faucets. Portable toilet provided.
• High level: Car campers allowed to use inside water/shower/toilet facilities. Congregation provides resource information and personal counseling. Limited meals and/or use of kitchen facilities.

Each Safe Parking car camp would have a code of conduct its residents would have to sign, similar to shelters, basically saying they will be good neighbors, said Jean Darsie, acting chair of Ballard Homes for All Coalition.

The coalition has received a $10,000 grant for the project. The money could be used to hire a screening agency to screen prospective campers, recruit more congregations, establish a code of conduct or purchase portable toilets and showers, said John Skans, a member the coalition.

Ballard Homes for All Coalition is in the early stages of the Congregation-Hosted Safe Parking for People Living in Vehicles project, and no timeline or locations for camps have been decided on.

But, there is a definite need and time is a factor, according to many at the meeting.

"Services are very short here in our neighborhood, and we need them," Darsie said.

James Wlos, who lives in his vehicle, said if this project doesn't get underway soon, he will be in real trouble because of mounting parking tickets.

Wlos said he doesn't currently earn enough to afford bills and rent, but it is hard to find steadier work when he is constantly being forced to move and worry about his vehicle. He needs a home base to get back on his feet, he said.

Many meeting attendees were worried about how some neighbors will react to the Safe Parking project car camps, based out prior outcries over other shelters and negative comments on online forums.

Kinney encouraged those in attendance to talk to their neighbors about the project. Hopefully Ballardites will see it as a solution because vehicles will be off the streets on private property and the people who live in them will be getting some aid and supervision, she said.

Rev. Bill Kirlin-Hackett, director of the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness, told attendees to make sure their neighbors are aware that Ballard is not bearing the brunt of this situation. There are similar problems and projects all over the city, he said.

But, if some neighbors still don't like the idea of car camps, Kirlin-Hackett advocated plowing on despite the protests while not losing sigh of the vision and reasons behind the Safe Parking project.

"Just do it," he said. "Let them scream their fool heads off."

The congregations who wish to host car camps have state and federal law on their sides and a new mayoral administration that is less likely to make a fuss, Kinney said.

The Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalize Persons Act gives religious organizations permission to follow their mission of helping people, Kinney said. The government can not restrict them without good reason, she said.

She said a recent similar state law gives added protection and allows churches to host camps inside or outside on their property. The city can only step in if they break a low or pose a serious public health or safety risk, she said.

The next Ballard Homes for All Coalition meeting to discuss and plan the Congregation-Hosted Safe Parking for People Living in Vehicles project is at 7 p.m. on June 17 at Crown Hill United Methodist Church, located at 8500 14th Ave. N.W.