Homeless Youth Alliance Fundraiser Places Bed In Haight Street Parking Space

San Francisco loves its parklets, and now maybe even its pooplets. But sleeplets?

A local advertising student has found yet another way to transform paid parking spaces: by placing beds in them to raise awareness about youth homelessness.

29-year-old Bennet Austin generated a significant amount of attention earlier this week when he parked a twin-sized bed in front of the Goodwill Store on Haight Street as part of a fundraising stunt to benefit the nearby Homeless Youth Alliance, which provides resources like showers, doctor's visits and counseling for homeless young people. His donation jar garnered $600 in just one day for the nonprofit, which hopes to build youth housing above its offices in the coming years.

"I was thinking about ways to circumvent the sit/lie law," Austin told SF Weekly of the project. San Francisco's controversial Sit/Lie ordinance prohibits residents from sitting or lying down on city sidewalks between 7am and 11pm. "I think instead of putting laws in place to push a problem away we should put more effort into changing things and coming up with a solution," Austin said.

Each day this week, Austin has trekked the bed to the same parking space and set up shop for eight hours, feeding the meter $2 each time it runs out. Although Police Captain Denis O'Leary explained to SF Weekly that Austin's actions are technically illegal, so far, law enforcement has left him alone.

"The cops have been really nice about it. I haven't had a single issue," Austin told ABC News.

And local homeless youths have voiced their appreciation. "It was really comfy," 21-year-old Cricket Anthony, who ABC News reported has been on the road for five years, said.

SFist stumbled upon Austin's promotional video and proclaimed that he's "probably got a nice career in advertising ahead of him." We couldn't agree more.

Comments

[KaleighGMcLaury]

04:44 PM on 10/30/2011

Yes, a "world changer" type of entrepreneur. Would love to have such a young man on my team!
Kaleigh

[Barbara0817]

03:14 AM on 10/12/2011

What a brilliant Young Man ,God Bless Him

[EyesWideShut7]

05:43 AM on 10/04/2011

San Francisco encourages homeless people and/or young people without jobs or money to go there.. Why do this if they don't intend on putting them up in shelters?! They end up on the street, and many of them (not all) are intoxicated, high, or suffer from a mental defect. They often make locals and visitors very uncomfortable when they walk around screaming at people, pee all over the side walks, and sleep on peoples' porches. I see it every time I'm in the city. I'm in favor of the law, but why encourage these people to come here if you don't plan to take care of them?! Something needs to be done to keep the streets cleaner, less creepy, and actually fix this problem. Things just don't work out for the homeless in the city with the 2nd highest cost of living rate in the nation..

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

11:32 AM on 10/01/2011

A bed is not a vehicle, so this street art, however well-intentioned, is illegal. The SF police, though, have responded as they always do......allowing minor infractions to continue. I learned about SF police diligence the hard way when visiting the city a couple of years back.

One of the many psychotics roaming the urban core ran across Post Street, shouting obscenities and threatening to "beat the s....t out of me." I had offended him by sitting at a small snack shop table and enjoying a diet Coke.

I had to stand up and assume a defense posture, so the maniac was dissuaded from hitting me. When I called 911, the police operator seemed quite reluctant to take my message seriously because the deranged man did not actually strike me. I then tried to wave down a passing patrol car, but with no luck. The two cops inside of it must have been hurrying to a Dunkin Donut call.

I have not travelled to SF since then. What a shame that such an outstanding, unique American city has a police department which seems to tolerate all but felony crime....

[ubersnoofer]

02:23 AM on 09/30/2011

Austin's actions are technically illegal
I don't think so. You can "sit" in your car all day as long as you pay the meter, since the law is not two laws, but one "sit/lie" ban then he would have a case that since a car paying the meter gives him the right to sit, another object parked there and paying the meter would extend him the same right to "lie". Now, if he fell asleep there's probably a law against doing that in the parking space. Seems to me though that a no sitting law is not enforceable as there may be numerous instances where a person is forced to sit through things they have no control of, like medical/injury related reasons. And selective enforcement is not a solution to laws that don't work.

[gypsy508]

12:06 PM on 10/02/2011

The law about sitting in lying is explicit regarding sidewalks only so that doesn't apply here.

[ubersnoofer]

04:11 PM on 10/02/2011

Ahh. I guess that would make more sense. :)

[dbrett480]

11:58 PM on 09/29/2011

I'm confused. How does a bed raise awareness of homelessness?

[peters1700]

09:07 PM on 09/29/2011

Well he should contact Larkin street youth, who are going to spend millions of dollars for one building. i would think they Should be able to help at haight street just meagre few thousands of dollars. Bravo justin!

[bmermaid]

08:26 PM on 09/29/2011

I know that goodwill store, and love it, but I would not want to be in the neighborhood at night, and there are plenty of kids that sleep in the street there. It's just down the street from Amoeba.