Long Beach City College’s Safe Parking Program — which permits students to sleep in a designated lot overnight and access showers and restroom facilities — illustrates a growing campus response to student homelessness. Administrators and students say the program provides a basic safety net that kept some learners enrolled and able to attend classes, but it also highlights gaps in long‑term housing support and mental‑health services. Colleges are expanding emergency housing, food pantries and wraparound services, and advocates argue federal and state aid must better target students experiencing homelessness. The program underscores how basic‑needs instability directly disrupts persistence and completion for low‑income students.