Kathy, 65, and Phil, 74, live together in this RV along with their aging Standard Poodle in a parking lot on December 18, 2017 in Santa Barbara, California. She currently works part time in Santa Barbara and struggles financially. She says she spent her career working as a paralegal and was a homeowner.

Income inequality in California is getting worse. In affluent areas such as Santa Barbara, the cost of living continues to rise while wages stay stagnant, leaving residents struggling to make ends meet. Even many of those with jobs can barely afford to stay in the city they've called home for years, and more of them are now forced to live out of their cars. "It's a kind of middle-class homelessness," writes Steve Lopez in an article on the issue for the Los Angeles Times. One local organization taking aim at the problem is the New Beginnings Counseling Center, which runs Safe Parking, a program that matches approved clients with monitored parking spots in lots near churches, government offices and nonprofits, where they can stay overnight.

The Safe Parking program has been around since 2004 but, just in the past 18 months, it has expanded from 20 lots to 23, according to the L.A. Times. There's also a waiting list of more than 40 families. Of the program's 150 clients, 40 percent are employed, including Marva Ericson, a certified nurse assistant currently living out of her Kia. After a series of seizures forced Ericson to quit her job, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor while taking care of her dying mother. Although Ericson regained her health and was able to return to work, she still struggled to make ends meet. Despite working two jobs, earning between $12 and $14 an hour, she lost her apartment three months ago and has been spending nights in her car since. "I wake up and I say, 'Thank you God for keeping me safe last night, and thank you for the Safe Parking program,'" Ericson told the L.A. Times.