story and photos by Sarah Menefee
Below are some quotes from testimony given by families who live in their vehicles, and by their advocates, before the SFMTA [San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority], at a hearing on Mayor Lurie’s proposal to institute a 2-hour parking limit on oversized vehicles in San Francisco. Ninety percent of the homeless families in the city live in vehicles such as RVs, and would be in grave danger of having them ticketed and towed, losing their only housing, resulting in more street homelessness and broken families. Many who live in their vehicles work. Dozens of people, vehicle residents and advocates, spoke passionately against the mean and destructive proposals at the hearing on June 17. The SFMTA then passed the first part of the plan. Also below is a Street Sheet story that provides important information about the cruel plan and the organizing to stop it. – Sarah Menefee, for the People’s Tribune.
‘The 2-hour parking ban is cruel, unconscionable, immoral. I am stunned they are proposing $9 million for surveillance equipment and doing this. It’s bizarre and cruel.’
‘I live in an RV and this has affected me a lot. I had been working cooking for various schools. I am terribly stressed by constant threats by MUNI. I am 53 years old, strong enough to work. I love cooking but where can I go to find somewhere to live I can afford? Please help us find a place to go where we’ll be safe.,
‘I live in an RV. I have testified before several times. We try to be good neighbors and keep our areas clean. I was offered housing several times but it came to nothing. We have already solved our housing problem by living in an RV. You should consult us before you make decisions about us.’
‘Our RV doesn’t have a motor right now. We can’t move after two hours, it will be towed. This is the only roof over my daughter’s head, the only shelter I can afford right now.’
‘If you vote on this proposal hundreds of people will lose their homes and be thrown into the streets, especially families. This will affect many, especially workers. The SFMTA cannot push 1400 people onto the streets. First, do no harm.’
‘Latino families will be forced into life-threatening situations, and they are already under threat by attacks by ICE and the police, pushing them further into danger.’
‘This is a crisis of the city’s own making, they need to solve it instead of making it worse.’
‘I’ve lived in an RV for 7 years and there is no help anywhere. We don’t harass people or commit crimes, we’re just trying to live like everyone else.’
