The Bayview RV triage site that opened in January 2022 has been dubbed the “most expensive homeless response” ever because of PG&E and Urban Alchemy costs. The problem was that PG&E never delivered that electricity, but they finally got it up and running this week.
The Bayview RV triage center at Candlestick Point opened in January 2022, but many RV dwellers were hesitant to move in at the time because it lacked electrical hook-ups. The site was renewed more than a year and a half later in October 2023, but was criticized by the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst as “the ‘most expensive homeless response’ ever,” because of incurred costs from Urban Alchemy staffing and PG&E power hook-ups.
To make things even more infuriating, those PG&E power hook-ups never went active in the now nearly three years the site has been operating.
But now, thankfully, the Chronicle reports that the RV triage site finally got working electricity as of Monday of this week. And unsurprisingly, fingers are being pointed as to why it took this long.
“The biggest problem for getting power to this site was PG&E,” San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing spokesperson Emily Cohen told the Chronicle. “PG&E has a track record of delaying and blocking public projects, basically holding them for ransom. That’s what happened here.”
City Hall officials are thankful that the power is finally running there, but still have reservations because no one really ever seems to “exit homelessness” by staying at the site.
“It’s terrible it took as long to get electrified as it did,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman commented to the Chronicle. “I’m glad it finally is, but there’s still a basic question whether this is an intervention that is effective and that we want to do more of.”
And this raises long-term concerns on whether people served by the triage site will be motivated to seek permanent shelter, because people who have an RV generally do not consider themselves to be, actually, homeless.
“I would like to get out of here but the prospect of going to a Tenderloin one-room, shared-everything is not appealing to me,” Bayview RV triage site resident Aaron Wilson told the Chronicle. “I’d rather live in my trailer.”
Related: Bayview RV Lot for Homeless Opens, But Many Resist Moving in For Lack of Electricity Resources [SFist]
Image: Candlestick Rv Park via Yelp