More than 100 shelter RVs provided by the city and state will become temporary shelter with counseling for people with underlying health conditions experiencing homelessness.
Of the 96 piers in the Port of San Francisco, Pier 94 has the special distinction of being a wetlands habitat for “birds, butterflies, and mammals” carefully tended to by Golden Gate Audubon volunteers. It has an even more urgent humanitarian distinction now, as the Chronicle reports the SF Port Commission voted unanimously to make Pier 94 an RV homeless shelter for unhoused people who have underlying health conditions that could make them more susceptible to being infected with COVID-19.
The 120 trailers will be provided to individuals, 91 from the state and 29 paid for by the city, according to the Chron (Here’s a picture of what those trailers look like). So this is not like the traditional triage vehicle center where people drive their own rigs in. The location of the trailer center is an “approximately 3.4 acre portion of Seawall Lot 344 located generally in the Backlands at Pier 94,” according to Port Commission documents. So this is basically adjacent to or near the blue and orange areas in the photo above.
“We looked at several public lands —state, local and federal — and we ended up at the port for several reasons,” Human Services Agency spokesperson Chandra Johnson told the Chronicle. “It’s challenging to find a space so large, three-plus acres.”
The Bayview has the second-highest concentration of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, and by neighborhood, is tied for the second-highest COVID-19 infection rate. The Chronicle also points out the Pier 80 areas just across the creek were used as a “large, temporary shelter to take in homeless people around the time of the 2016 Super Bowl.”
The Port Commission will not charge rent for the use of the site for this purpose. The Commission also approved the use of Piers 30-32 as a CityTestSF COVID-19 testing site that will also be provided rent-free.
Related: New COVID-19 Cluster At SoMa Homeless Shelter Will Add 70 New Cases to SF Tally [SFist]
Image: Port of San Francisco
