2025 Program Highlights: Lights Out on Racism + Low-Income Repair
In 2025, Auto Repair Transformation deepened its impact through the combined efforts of our Lights Out on Racism and Low-Income Repair programs , which together address the intersection of transportation safety, economic survival, and racial justice. While the programs remain distinct in design, their overlap reflects the reality our clients face: poverty, unsafe vehicles, and disproportionate exposure to policing are inseparable issues. This year, we also saw a continued rise in clients living in their vehicles , making safety and reliability not just matters of mobility, but of housing and survival. For these individuals, a failed inspection can mean more than a ticket, it can mean losing shelter, being displaced from a safe parking site, or being unable to reach work, medical care, or community support. In response, increased funding allowed us to move beyond primarily minor safety fixes and provide more comprehensive, life-saving repairs for each client we served. In 2024, we covered $34,735 in combined repairs. In 2025, that number grew to $90,400 . While we served slightly fewer clients, each individual received more extensive repairs, ensuring their vehicles were truly safe, roadworthy, and reliable. Our team donated 265 labor hours to repairs in 2025, up from 207 the year prior, not including the many hours spent on individualized client education. We expanded our scope to include critical steering and suspension repairs, brake work, and tire replacement, issues that frequently caused vehicles to fail safety inspections. For many low-income clients, these dangerous conditions had gone unaddressed not out of neglect, but because they could not afford repairs and could not afford to stop driving. When a vehicle is both transportation and shelter, there is no safe alternative.
A major milestone this year was the ability to replace tires that failed safety inspections. In 2025 alone, A.R.T. replaced 108 tires , addressing one of the most common and dangerous contributors to vehicle crashes. National safety data consistently shows that worn tires, faulty brakes, lighting failures, and suspension issues significantly increase the risk of collisions, especially in wet, dark, or high-speed conditions. By intervening early, our programs reduce accidents before they happen while also limiting the likelihood of traffic stops for non-moving violations that disproportionately impact Black and Brown drivers. Because our funding has focused on safety-critical repairs, we have not yet been able to cover preventative maintenance, despite identifying this need on nearly every vehicle. Expanding into preventative care is a key goal for the year ahead. Beyond repairs, we strengthened our community- based approach. In partnership with local organizations, we hosted Lights Out on Racism events that combined safety inspections with Know Your Rights education, community panels featuring experts and people with lived experience, and shared meals. While vehicles were inspected and repaired, participants learned about their rights during traffic stops, accessed resources, and built community in affirming, welcoming spaces. Together, these programs demonstrate what transportation justice looks like in practice: fewer unsafe vehicles on the road, fewer breakdowns that lead to crisis or displacement, fewer opportunities for discriminatory policing and more safety, stability, and dignity for people who rely on their vehicles not just to get somewhere, but to survive.
I’ve had the best experience with Auto Repair Transformation. You all made me feel so welcome and safe to talk about my struggles with my finances regarding my vehicle maintenance. The event I went to was so information about learning my rights when being pulled over and questioned by the police. It’s the people here who make it great! - Lindsey S.
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