NEWS RELEASES
Sanctioned Park For Homeless RV Dwellers Opens In Oakland
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through The East Bay Times' website.
OAKLAND, Calif. — The East Bay Times, San Francisco Chronicle and other area news outlets report that Oakland has opened the Bay Area’s first safe parking location for RVs near the Coliseum BART station on 71st Avenue. Part of a pilot program to address homelessness in the area, the city-sanctioned park is the first of three planned and is open only to those 18 and over living in RVs and trailers along Edes Avenue near 85th Avenue where dozens of vehicles have congregated. The maximum stay is 6 months. Families with children are not allowed, but the city is considering opening one of the other planned RV-dweller parks to families.
The parking area has 24/7 security, a full-time site manager, a tank with drinking water, electrical hook-ups, portable toilets and wash stations, but no dump station. Mobile shower trucks will make weekly visits. The program is costing the city $150,000 to start up, and an estimated $600,000 a year per park to run. The funds will come from Oakland’s $8.6 million allotment from the state’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program.
Similar safe parking programs are in operation in Union City and Santa Clara County, with Palo Alto considering a program of its own. Four Oakland churches opened their parking lots overnight to vehicle dwellers earlier this year, to address the city’s burgeoning homeless problem.