New Center at the Candlestick State Recreation Area Boat Launch Parking Lot will deliver critical services to people living in vehicles

By The S.F. Mayor’s Press Office

Mayor London N. Breed and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) announced on January 21, the opening of the new Bayview Vehicle Triage Center (VTC) at the Candlestick Point State Recreation Area’s (SRA) Park Boat Launch Parking Lot. The new Center will provide a safe space to sleep and access to stabilizing services for people experiencing vehicular homelessness in close proximity to Candlestick Point SRA.

The City and County of San Francisco, together with the California State Parks and a task force of Bayview community leaders, proposed the development of a temporary VTC at the underutilized site in District 10 in March 2020. The authorizing resolution was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and by the California State Lands Commission in October 2021.

“We must take advantage of every opportunity we get, and all do our part to ensure that our unhoused residents have a safe place to sleep and regular access to stabilizing services,” said Breed. “As we continue to move forward with our Homelessness Recovery Plan, we must find solutions for people living in their RVs or their cars and provide them with a path out of homelessness. I want to thank the California State Parks for their partnership and the residents of the Bayview for their support of this critical Center.”

The Bayview VTC will include up to 135 parking spaces for 203 people, 24/7 staffing and security, bathrooms, mobile shower facilities, potable water, and mobile blackwater pumping services.

Additionally, the Center will provide people living in their vehicles in the immediate area with access to services designed to help stabilize their lives through health care, housing, employment, or other interventions that meet their unique needs and lead to a permanent exit from homelessness. The Bayview VTC will be funded by Proposition C, which voters passed in 2018, and newly secured state resources.

“This vehicle triage center will improve conditions in the neighborhood for all by providing badly-needed services, security, and hygiene facilities,” said City Attorney David Chiu. “As an Assemblymember, I was happy to work with community groups to secure funding in the state budget for this site.”

“The Candlestick area has been under-resourced, neglected, and overrun with challenges for way too long. For years, our housed neighbors living in the Candlestick area have been calling on the City to tackle these very issues,” said District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton. “All of our community members deserve to live in a neighborhood that’s clean and safe and our vehicularly housed folks deserve access to basic services like restrooms, electricity, and pathways to housing. This VTC is the first step towards answering the calls of all our neighbors in the area who deserve better.”

“With the Bayview VTC, we continue to develop innovative approaches to the growing issue of vehicular homelessness in our community,” said Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director, San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “The purpose of the Bayview VTC is to offer stability to individuals and families and to provide a transition from living in vehicles to housing and services that offer an end to their homelessness.”

“As we continue to face tough challenges during these unprecedented times of the pandemic, State Parks is proud to partner with the City and County of San Francisco to help ease the homelessness issue in the Bayview community while providing quality outdoor recreation opportunities at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area,” said Maria Mowrey, Bay Area District Superintendent, California State Parks.

HSH will contract with nonprofits Urban Alchemy and Bayview Hunters Point Foundation to operate and provide services at the Center. Urban Alchemy and Bayview Hunters Point Foundation were selected jointly based on their success and demonstrated expertise working with people experiencing homelessness.

The proposed Bayview VTC is intended to be temporary, as the City has negotiated a two-year sublease for the Center with the California State Parks.

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