Cities Face Growing Crisis as RVs Become Homes of Last Resort
December 18th, 2017Via: East Bay Times:
Bay Area cities are coming to realize what Ramirez already knows — parking tickets won’t solve the problem of finding a place to live. From Oakland to San Jose, officials are struggling to cope with a growing influx of RV dwellers seeking a safe, permanent place for the only homes they can afford.
“We’ve never seen it like this,” said Tom Myers, executive director of Community Services Agency of Mountain View, where the city averages more than three complaints a day about RV communities. “We have to be prepared that this will be the new normal for us. It’s a crisis.”
The Bay Area, which has some of the highest median incomes in the nation, has seen its homeless population grow. The number of residents in Alameda County lacking permanent shelter jumped nearly 40 percent since 2015, with 5,600 people now considered homeless, according to a federal census this year. Santa Clara County saw a 13 percent increase. While many RV residents don’t consider themselves homeless, they are often included in overall homeless counts.
Related: A Journey Through a Land of Extreme Poverty: Welcome to America
