Used car dealer opens up his lot to help the homeless

In these days of heightened health panic, many people are trying to get as far away from their fellow man as possible.

Certainly, the more vulnerable in our society, such as the homeless, are generally being given even less consideration than at “normal” times.

That only makes the ongoing altruistic mission of a North Carolina used car dealer even more admirable.

Kiplin Automotive Group in Charlotte invites homeless men and women who are living in their cars to sleep in their vehicles on its well lit and protected lot.

The idea for letting people sleep in their cars on the Kiplin lot started five years ago when workers went to repossess a car from a client who had stopped her payments.

They found the woman sleeping in the car.

“We put her in a hotel until she could find a place but all the shelters were full,” Kiplin posted on its Facebook Page. “That’s when we asked God why are we here. 6 years later we have one piece of the puzzle.”

Kiplin’s mission has also been driven by the experiences of the dealership’s general manager, James Charles. He found himself between homes in 2015. He said that it changed him — and that, in turn, inspired him to provide help to those without a roof over their head.

“We were homeless — I’d like to say displaced — for 90 days,” Charles told CNN.

“We didn’t have a place to live because (the owner) sold the house we were renting and we were unaware that it was being sold.”

Charles, his wife and their six children were mostly living out of hotels, and came close to crashing at the dealerships as well when hotels were booked.

“It was a tough time, a tough experience,” said Charles, who, after finding the homeless woman in her car, decided to launch his mission to help those less fortunate than himself.

Charles said people typically pull in at about 7:30 p.m. and leave by 7:30 a.m., as most have jobs. They include a veteran, a mother with three children, and mostly young people who have jobs but can’t afford Charlotte rents, he said.

Charles said he expects the nightly number in his lot to climb to about 30 in the coming weeks.

Word of Kiplin’s effort quickly spread, with people dropping off food, knit hats and a Sani-Can toilet, Charles said.

Charles’ dealership of used and pre-owned cars has since formed the nonprofit HALO Now, short for Helping And Leading Others Now.