San Francisco moves 20+ RV residents into permanent housing

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- After the implementation of new parking restrictions and threats of ticketing and towing on roads near Lake Merced, many people living in RVs in that area finally have stable housing.

After a year living in an RV with her daughter and two grandkids, Eucevia Rosales and her family finally have a home.

"We are very happy because we have a stable place. We don't have to be out on the streets anymore," said Rosales.

The apartment may look empty with no furniture, but she says it's filled with so much love and peace. We sat on the carpet where she talked about being grateful.

"First of all we want to thank God," said Rosales, "Now, they start school, and they are at peace. We are very grateful, and we are very blessed."

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Next to her, her grandson 9-year-old Christopher Herreras saying he is happy after leaving the RV.

Christopher shows us his own room and said one of his favorite parts of having a home again is running water.

The Rosales family is one of over 20 households the city placed into permanent housing over the weekend. All RV residents who used to park on Winston Drive until the city implemented a four-hour parking limit for a repaving project.

Many residents ended up moving to Zoo Road but were asked to move or get towed.

Last week, social workers and city staff offered them financial vouchers that made it easier for them to afford housing and they accepted.

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"We were able to connect with 27 households. That is both families with children and adults and we have moved 21 of those households into permanent housing as of today. There are still a few more in process," said Emily Cohen, HSH deputy director for communications and legislative affairs.

This also means the city will pay for a large portion of their rent for up to three years in some cases.

"Using a program called rapid rehousing. This is a time-limited rent subsidy so the family or individual will pay 30% of their income towards rent and the subsidy makes up the rest up to market rate value," said Cohen.

A feat that was only accomplished thanks to a partnership with Parkmerced. The largest single landlord participating in the Section 8 program.

"Not only does the city vet them through their standard qualifications process, Parkmerced, Maximus - we also have a standard qualification process that all tenants must go through whether they are fair market, or they are assisted through some sort of housing program," said Jessica Vathis, Parkmerced director of resident services.

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A partnership with the city that opened the door for many families to finally exit homelessness.

"Now they have homes. So, we are so grateful that we got to support with the city and support in finding these homes for these families," said Vathis.

Cohen said those who are now housed are getting rid of their RVs.

"Some of these families were actually renting the RVs. So these will go back to the owners. For some of these families, we are going to work with them to utilize the states buyback program. So, the state would buy old vehicles off the road," said Cohen.

The city confirmed they are still reaching out to people living in RVs in the area.

"We continue to outreach to people living in their vehicles along Lake Merced, the Bayview and across the city. Homelessness in vehicles is a growing challenge in our community," said Cohen, "We have helped over 3,500 households each year move into housing doing this. This is a microcosm of the work that we do every day across our system of care."