|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
When Lupita Lara was homeless a decade ago, she had to figure things out on her own. Now as a case manager for WeHope, an East Palo Alto nonprofit that serves people who are unhoused or living in their vehicles, she is giving the help that she never got.
“I was homeless in 2011 and I wish that the help that there is now, I had with my case manager. I would just do it myself,” Lara said. “I wanted to help other people who have been homeless to let them know: It’s OK. We’ve all been there. I understand what they’re going through and can help them.”
Since 2019, WeHope has operated an RV Safe Parking Program at 1798 Bay Road. The parking lot provides a safe place for up to 20 RV dwellers to park their vehicles for free. Residents also receive free amenities and meals so that they can save money for housing in the future.
Half of Bay Area renters are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the Bay Area Equity Atlas, a regional data hub that analyzes data and reports on inequality trends.
The high cost of rent sometimes pushes low-income people out of their homes, out of the state, or onto the streets. In 2019, 1,512 individuals were counted as homeless in San Mateo County. Of these, 494 lived in motor homes, having to park on the streets and contend with city laws that might ban parking in certain areas or at certain times.
Rising rents pushed Maria Elena Vasquez and her husband to move into an RV, where they now live at WeHope’s safe parking program. Vasquez has lived for the last two years at the Bay Road site, where she feels safe and protected after living on the streets.
“It’s ugly living in the streets,” Vasquez said in an interview that has been translated from Spanish. “Here we feel protected.”
After Vasquez’ landlord doubled the rent of their Menlo Park studio — they would have had to pay over $3,000 — Vasquez’ husband bought an RV for a one-time cost of about $4,000.
Buying the RV was cheaper than paying monthly rent. But living on the street came with its own challenges.
“We parked wherever we found a spot,” Vasquez said, adding that she worried about being robbed or that “someone was going to shoot me because I worked at night and got home in the early morning.”
At the RV safe parking program, residents get free water, electricity, showers, meals daily and 24-hour security. Renting a spot at some private RV parks can cost $80 per night or over $1,000 a month in the Peninsula.
“Thank God they haven’t charged us anything since the day we moved here,” Vasquez said. “All of that helps us save the little money we do get. … We have a lot of help from the program, but it’s not enough because we want to have a place to live.”
But the search for permanent housing has been long and fruitless so far. Vasquez, who has been unemployed because of the pandemic, said she has filled out multiple applications but has not heard back from any. The waitlist for affordable housing can be months, sometimes years, long.
A ‘stepping ladder’ out of homelessness
Since the start of the program in 2019, WeHope has helped 34 of its past 73 clients move into permanent housing, which is their ultimate goal. This May, the park was full, with five people on the waiting list.
As WeHope’s lead case manager, Lara helps connect residents to health care, housing applications or life logistics like getting a license.
“I advocate for them as much as I can,” Lara said. “My clients know they can call me anytime they want … I work eight to five but I’m always there for my clients.”
Her proudest moment was when one of her clients bought their own home with the money they saved while living at the park.
“A lot of clients say that I’m a little strict, but in the end they thank me. So she thanked me for pushing her. She thanked me for always being on her,” Lara said.
There are also two modular homes on the Bay Road site that offer a temporary place to stay while families search for permanent housing. The modular homes are prefabricated steel units complete with bedrooms, kitchen space, common spaces and amenities.
For the Samaniegos, a family of four, moving out of their RV and into the three-bedroom modular home in April has given them much-needed space.
“We’re very grateful…We have more space for cooking and our own rooms. We’re more at peace,” Teresa Samaniego said.
Her sons, high school students Edwin Samaniego and Jose Sameniego Jr., said moving into a home means they’ll have their own space to play video games and enjoy their mom’s home-cooked meals.
The modular homes are a project of United Hope Builders, a nonprofit that builds modular steel homes to help create affordable housing. Pastor Paul Bains, founder/president/CEO of WeHope and chairman of United Hope Builders, said that they plan to produce three to four modular homes each year.
As for the parking program, Bains said that WeHope started the RV parking program in partnership with the city of East Palo Alto to create a safe place for families to live. The program costs about $374,000 to run for the year.
Most people who live in RVs in the city are working families, Bains said, and not people who are trying to cause trouble.
“People just needed a hand up,” Bains said. “Most families are local families. They couldn’t afford to live in places because rents kept going up and up. That made it almost impossible for them to live where they work.”
And during the pandemic, demand for their services has increased, Bains said. They’ve had to add handwashing stations to adapt to the pandemic, since public bathrooms and libraries — places people needing water access would normally go — were closed.
Bains, like Lara, emphasized that the program is not a permanent place for people to stay, but a “stepping ladder” to get them out of the cycle of homelessness.
Residents at the safe parking program must participate in classes — such as cooking classes, financial literacy or anger management — and meet with case managers regularly in order to stay at the park.
“We don’t believe love is love unless discipline is in it. The programs create on-ramps for people to get back to self-sufficiency,” Bains said.
Paving the way forward amid deep-rooted inequality
East Palo Alto was the first city in San Mateo County to create a safe parking program for RV residents, pioneering the way for other cities to do the same.
Redwood City began its own program in October 2020. Their program can support about 40 RVs and is run by LifeMoves, a Silicon Valley nonprofit dedicated to finding solutions to homelessness. Palo Alto launched its own program earlier this year at a Geng Road site near the Baylands.
LiveMoves’ vice president of programs and services Brian Greenberg said the creation of parking programs like the local ones are a response to increasing levels of homelessness over the last two years.
“Many cities have taken an interest in creating safe parking programs,” Greenberg said. “Both East Palo Alto and Redwood City took a leadership role in establishing this and looking at not pushing people into the next community but looking to work with them in their own communities.”
Sociology researcher David Grusky, who is a professor of sociology at Stanford University and directs the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, applauded programs like these.
But he said systemic change is needed to address inequality in the country.
“We have to fight on two fronts,” Grusky said. “One front is to try to bring about big systemic change, which would mean more redistribution, provide basic services for people who can’t afford them and fix our labor market institutions.”
Another way to reduce inequality is to create a labor market that gives workers more power to negotiate with employers for higher wages, he said.
While Grusky said there is movement toward making those systemic changes, programs like the RV safe parking program help “plug the holes” by directly helping people in need.
“We also have an obligation to try to take on the problems that arise when you don’t have those big systemic forces correctly in place,” Grusky said. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
The reporter thanks Victoria Franco, who helped conduct and translate a Spanish interview. Palo Alto Online contributed this report.
The reporter thanks Victoria Franco, who helped conduct and translate a Spanish interview. Palo Alto Online contributed this report.
The reporter thanks Victoria Franco, who helped conduct and translate a Spanish interview. Palo Alto Online contributed this report.
The reporter thanks Victoria Franco, who helped conduct and translate a Spanish interview. Palo Alto Online contributed this report.
Palo Alto could take a cue from EPA and Mountain View in pro-actively dealing with the homeless problem.
But no…some residents are too concerned with expensive handbag thefts, watering their personal Sequoia trees, closing off University & California Avenues for added dining-out options, establishing an insignificant history museum, and other deep concerns.
Gee Larry – we have a navigation center next to T&C and a RV camp at Buena Vista. We have a safe parking enter on Geng Road. Why don’t you recognize what we have done.
@Resident-1 Adobe Meadows
Not good enough. When PA follows in the footsteps of MV and EPA, we’ll resume this discussion.
Until then, it appears PA is not doing nearly enough to ease the homeless problem.
Always Barron Park. Did you not notice that the city of Los Alto borders your neighborhood at Barron Creek next to Los Altos Avenue? Your neighborhood is squished in between Los Altos and SU property at Matadero Creek. Have driven throuhg your neighborhood and you now have very nice, pricey homes there. If anyone wants to check out your neighborhood then they need to drive through to the end where the park is. Do you want a tent city on your park? Given all of the pricey homes in your section what do you suggest?
The first issue in this city now is SAFETY and SECURITY Read the poilice log in your local paper – problems all over the city with breakins, car thefts, etc. WE have had it with all of the discombobulation going on. I do not see any RV’s in your neighborhood – just newer pricey homes.
Face it. It’s never good enough for the trolls. They’ll never admit anything good that’s been done.
Having recently arrived in Palo Alto from Santa Cruz and speaking for myself, as long as one does not loiter, antagonize residents and shoppers, or randomly litter, Palo Alto is not a bad place to be homeless.
Just stay out of sight of the downtown PAPD patrols and do not panhandle or appear drunk in public.
The libraries afford a place to towel bathe and with the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, park restrooms are now open to the public.
Also looking forward to camping out at Foothills Park as there are times you just want to escape the suburban sprawl.
Palo Alto is a mecca for transients providing one keeps a low profile and with food stamps, social services assistance and an Obamaphone one can get by.
Life is good, given the circumstances.
There is a white Dodge van with stolen license plates that situates itself around the area. The licnese expired in May 2019. It says it is the property of San Marino – that is in Socal. The license plates have a 1995 issued number starting with a 2. I have reported it to the police. Stolen?
Just what we need is a bunch of people who think life is good here in stolen license plate vans. Those are the people that come into your neighborhood and take bikes, anything else that is not anchored down to sell for food.
What is even stranger is that Santa Cruz is a destination place now. More open land to hide out in. Showers on the beach. More acceptance of people in casual clothes.
Do people think we are handing out free money here? Do we have non-profit groups who are selling our city out to homeless people?
Read your papers – a lot of cities are now starting to clear homeless camps. People have had it with discombobulation.
Note on license plates – the state is paying people to give up their cars for $1,500. The license plates for those cars may still have time left in the expiration date. Someone is making money selling those license plates which now make stolen cars unidnetifiable. A side business for the employees of the state?
> the people that come into your neighborhood and take bikes, anything else that is not anchored down to sell for food.
Oftentimes to buy illicit drugs (i.e. meth) or alcohol as well…so don’t leave them something to steal.
> a lot of cities are now starting to clear homeless camps.
Many cities are also buying/leasing motel occupancies or creating pre-fabricated housing units to accomodate the homeless.
Palo Alto could do the same…if it actually cared about addressing this problem.
Many communities have bought space in motels for the homeless but a lot do not want to participate in that program. If they go live in a motel they are now scrutinized and expected to participate in programs to get them back on their feet. And no drugs in the motels. Also they are now named and tracked for a program. Cities are investing in all type of strategies to help but not all strategies are helpful or successful. Palo Alto has facilitated a number of different stategies – not all advertised.
What is the deal here? Why do people keep thinking that PA has not deliviered on a process that is totally successful? You are dealing with a lot of people who all have a lot of issues and we cannot be expected to resolve everyone’s issues. This creates a one-sided conversation – the homeless are the other side of the conversation. They have to step up and do their job here.
I can sort of understand Resident 1-Adobe Meadow’s position….if more accomodations for the homeless are made, then even more of them will come to Palo Alto and we can’t have that!
The city of MV is having a large argument about using a motel in the low cost section of MV/ECR. The neighbors are up in arms about this. Every city that is trying to do this is having pushback from the neighbors of those projected motel sites. That is the bay area in total. Quit trying to peg PA as being different in what they will accept and reject. Our hotels and motels are not the low cost type. Even though they are old. They are someone’s business. Every business has a right to make decisions which will determine if they can even stay in business without going bankrupt.
# Our hotels and motels are not the low cost type. Even though they are old.
Just overpriced given the amenities…especially the motels along ECR in Barron Park.
Barron Park is going through a major overhaul. If you go bACK two blocks behind ECR you start seeing very nice homes and neighborhoods. Keep driving back to the park – it is not a cheap place to be. And it is not as compact as the PA downtown neighborhoods.
ECR is being dug up and rebuilt. Those one and two story motels will be replaced with large apartment buildings, starting to happen now. They are still someone’s business and they should not have to go bankrupt. Big hotels by the SJX San Jose airport and downtoen are having bankruptcy issues. You can’t drive people out of business.
Some of those Barron Park motels along El Camino Real have been around since the late 1940s/early 1950s and hardly qualify as quaint.
And the same can be said of the old President Hotel on University Avenue.
All of these structures should be demolished in due time.
The old motels on ECR are not in themselves of value – the property they are sitting on is very desirable and high value. All these people who keep talking about this topic sound like a bunch of investors who can’t wait for them to go bankrupt and get them for nothing. There is more to the politics of the “homeless” then what you see on the surfae. A lot of property is changing hands right now. A lot of the buyers are from out-of-state. The small wineries in Napa and Sonoma are a good example – push the owners into sales to big buyers. I would rather the owners of those motels get to reap the rewards for hanging in so long.
I do feel that the real challenge is that people keep thinking that if we do XYZ, it will help the homeless. What I don’t feel we understand is what the homeless who have been on the streets so long, really want. Perhaps they want autonomy and the ideas proposed require they follow rules. There are homeless families with some family members working that want help. What I feel many of the posts are talking about are those homeless who may never want to be within a structured place. I feel there are various categories of homeless and what gets challenging is trying to make one big container of all homeless. Just like those who live in Palo Alto, everyone is not extremely wealthy and the majority of residents are actually renters, not home owners. The program being done by ProjectWeHope is terrific. There are significant rules and guidelines that must be followed in order to be at their lot and even to go into the shelter.
I feel it would be extremely helpful for people to go over to places like ProjectWeHope and the Opportunity Center. Volunteer there and see what is really happening there. Find out about their clients and who they will not take within their environments.
We all need to seek to understand. There are quite a number of resources that exist in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County and also San Mateo County.
The Hyatt Cabana would make a good homeless shelter.
Plenty of small rooms and the kitchen/dining areas could be put to practical use.
No one stays at that place anymore.
I tried once to reserve and pay for a pair of rooms at a modest PA motel to provide temporary shelter for two homeless individuals and the proprietors refused service.
Their suggestion…go to a Motel 6.
If Orville lives in College Terrace then how does he know what goes on at the Hyatt Cabana? When you get some games going at SU it will be filled with people. I just came from that area and it looked pretty busy to me – people are getting ready to rock amd roll.
Perhaps the various midpeninsula cities need to maintain massive unkept shrubbery havens where the homeless can discreetly establish private enclaves away from public sight.
I have seen such living environments in southern California, even in the nicer and more exclusive communities.
The inhabitants come out during the early AM hours to forage and then return to these hidden encampments.
Moral Compass – Motel 6 has an agreement with the government. It is a business transaction between Motel 6 and the government. People are running businesses here. Each business has a responibility to manage their business within the financial requirements to avoid bankruptcy.
Ruben – we are now in fire prevention time with very high heat. Everyone – including the city – are required to mainatin vegetation to reduce potential fires. That is what is required by the state, the county, and the city. And the homeowner’s insurance. What you suggested will not work in EPA – they are very busy right now in a major city upgrade and looking to clean-up and fix-up. Major new neighborhoods going in now and new charter schools. The homeless need to go to the places that the cities have set up for them.
The U.S. Navy should consider donating some unused sections of Moffett Field for a homeless city as many of the housing, medical, and recreational facilities are already intact.
Such an environment would then be out of the view and festering contempt of various PA homeless haters by also providing ample space for transient RVs.
Moffett Field is an EPA site. Effort is underway to resolve the toxic elements which are going throgh the sewer systems. The US Navy is working with the EPA and contractors to resolve these issues. The unused sections are UNUSED for that specific reason.
If Moffett Field is that badly polluted, why not earmark parts of it for a regional dumpyard?
Detoxifying the ground will take decades and involve exorbitant costs.
Moffatt Field has many uses – including a lease to Google. FEMA is storing goods there for any problems. A university has a site there. It is an active airfield – used for classified flights and presidential landings. It is a functioning location that is government owned and leased out to the various big wigs. Go visit it. Find out what is going on in your backyard.