Working homeless forced to move in East Palo Alto
EAST PALO ALTO – City officials ordered a dozen RVs out of a single, flood-prone residential street Wednesday, igniting protests from residents and social service agencies concerned about a crackdown on the new mode of low-income housing in the Bay Area.
City officials emptied a block of Weeks Street, displacing about 50 residents living in parked vehicles. The city said some residents were illegally dumping sewage from their vehicles, creating a health hazard soon to be exacerbated by expected rain storms.
Protesters claimed the city did not give the residents enough time to pack up and leave.
“It’s very unreasonable,” said Marlayna Tuiasosopo, leader of the Real Community Coalition. “It’s also inhumane.”
Bay Area cities are struggling to control the growing number of parked RVs and vans. Blue-collar workers are often forced to hold down multiple jobs, but still can’t afford the region’s steep rents and live in their vehicles.
Officials in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park and other cities have taken steps in recent months to relocate RVs from thoroughfares and residential streets. East Palo Alto estimates about 60 vehicles are used as permanent shelter in the city, with most of them parked along streets near the bay.
The housing crisis has shown acute symptoms in East Palo Alto schools. Ravenswood City School District Superintendent Gloria Hernandez-Goff said the homeless student population in the district has swelled from 25 percent at the start of last school year to 58 percent today. The district has stepped up efforts to feed children at school and distribute groceries to families in need.
Hernandez-Goff joined the protest Wednesday morning to show support for the students. Several come from the RVs lining a few local streets, she said. “It’s stunning,” she said of the working homeless. “There’s nowhere else for them to go.”
All but one RV, too broken down to move, left the street Wednesday. Some parked around the corner. City officials are concerned that heavy rains this weekend could flush sewage into storm drains and contaminate surrounding homes.
East Palo Alto Public Works Director Kamal Fallaha said inspectors had warned RV residents not to dump on the street. They also alerted the community that they would have to move before the storm. The temporary ban is expected to last through mid-January. The street is also the future site of The Primary School funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife.
The city is working with non-profit agencies and the faith community to address the immediate needs of the growing homeless population, he said. The city was scheduled to hold a public hearing on the issue this week. “We need to find a solution,” he said. “The city needs to be part of the solution.”
Protesters and advocates said the families were hard workers, and tried to be good neighbors.
Adrian Martinez, a mechanic, moved his RV from Weeks Street before the deadline. The expensive rental market forced his family into living on the street, he said.
Martinez, his wife and two grandchildren lived in East Palo Alto, sharing one-room in their landlord’s house. They paid $1,100 a month for a place to sleep before they were eventually forced out, he said.
After failing to find an affordable one-bedroom apartment that accepted children, Martinez bought a 25-year-old RV. Martinez, 43, and his wife both work two jobs. They do little more than sleep in the vehicle, he said.
It’s not ideal, he said, but their grandchildren, 9 and 10-years-old, can walk to the nearby elementary school.
“Right now, where can I park?” he asked. “Wherever the city says.”
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