In September, the SFMTA voted in favor of implementing four-hour parking restrictions on Winston Drive and Buckingham Way. But these two streets, which are just north of San Francisco State, have been home to dozens of families living in RV’s for years.
The four-hour restrictions aren’t supposed to go into effect until December 19, but as the date gets closer, residents and organizers are getting nervous. Once the restrictions are implemented, close to 100 people – some of whom are seniors, students, and children – will be displaced, worsening the city’s already dire housing and homelessness situation.
Bonnie Gamble is the Housing Programs Assistant at Compass Family Services. She had this to say at the press conference:
"The process to get into affordable housing in San Francisco is extremely lengthy and for many families totally out of reach. You may often hear people say, well, why can't they just go to a shelter? Citywide, our family shelter wait list currently reflects 228 families seeking emergency housing placement. 228 families."
Since September, the Department of Housing and Supportive Services, or HSH, has been working with GLIDE, The Coalition on Homelessness and people living on Winston and Buckingham to find solutions and offer housing.
According to HSH, they’ve offered Rapid Rehousing to everyone at the site. They say they’ve reached out to everyone living there and are actively working with 70 households to enroll them in SF’s coordinated entry system and offer long and short-term housing vouchers. But according to GLIDE, not everyone at the site has been offered a permanent solution.