BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Homeless people are living in abandoned cars in the parking lot at East Palo Alto City Hall at 2415 University Ave., which has drawn complaints from a councilman.
Sela Finau, who has been living at the parking lot for two years with her husband.
Finau said she lost her job as a caregiver during the pandemic. After she lost her job, she started living in her car with her husband. They were using two cars to store their belongings. The open bathroom in the government building has helped her maintain her hygiene. In the past few months, one of their cars was towed, which contained all of her identification and documents.
She said that during the pandemic, she lost family members and struggled to make money to maintain her car. “I didn’t expect to lose so much. I just felt it was like back-to-back funerals,” Finau said.
Finau is currently unemployed but assists her mom during the day. Around 7 p.m., she returns, hoping the car she is sleeping in hasn’t been towed. She said she doesn’t understand why people are complaining when they don’t make any noise, but does understand that it’s illegal for her to stay there.
Finau has received two tickets for her car in the past week, but is hoping a spot opens up at a shelter for her and her husband. The outreach teams visit Finau three to four times a week with updates on her case.
Nowhere to go
“If we do have to leave from here, we don’t know where we’re going to go because we haven’t been placed in housing. We just got to take it as it is and hopefully everything works out,” Finau said.
Councilman Webster Lincoln has been trying to get county officials to spruce up the county-owned building at 2415 University Ave., and to assist the three or four people who live in the parking lot there. The building is rented by the East Palo Alto council and is also home to a public library and an ATM.
Lincoln pointed out that on May 15, the county unveiled its new $230 million government building at 500 County Center in Redwood City, but have been doing the bare minimum in East Palo Alto.
“In East Palo Alto, instead of building us a new government building, they just upgraded the HVAC and put some new lighting in. You spent $200 million in Redwood City (on the new county government building), but don’t forget about East Palo Alto and the residents, because we are part of San Mateo County as well,” Lincoln said.
The county has been asking nonprofit LifeMoves, which works with the homeless, to reach out to people living in their cars since late April, according to LifeMoves spokeswoman Maria Prato.
Most county supervisors stay away
Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, who was on East Palo Alto’s council for over 11 years, visited the building when she heard about Lincoln’s complaint. Gauthier is the only county supervisor to visit the building, according to Lincoln.
Lincoln said that he didn’t understand why it didn’t concern other supervisors or why other supervisors hadn’t taken any action to improve the building and parking lot.
County Executive Mike Callagy told Lincoln in an email that a team will meet with the people who are refusing help and initiate anti-encampment enforcement procedures. The people living at the lot will be charged with a misdemeanor after they receive two written warnings and they decline two offers of shelter.
After six citations, vehicles will be towed by Public Works, according to county spokeswoman Michelle Durand. There are currently six abandoned vehicles at the parking lot.
Fence planned
Callagy said a fence will also be placed at the entrance and exit to the property, allowing access to the ATM and council meetings, but not after hours.
In December 2022, the board approved an agreement of $8 million with Sbay Construction to improve the building’s electrical heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, fire alarm, ceilings, paint and flooring.
Lincoln said East Palo Alto deserves more than just the improvements being done to the building now.
The improvements to East Palo Alto City Hall began in early 2023 and continued through 2024. It is estimated to finish by June 30, according to Public Works Director Ann Stillman.
The board increased the agreement with Sbay Construction by an additional $250,000 to finish the project. The project is estimated at $15 million.
Why isn’t the County doing more to help those who are camping in the parking lot? The priority should be on providing placement and assistance, not on erecting a fence and citing individuals on the property. This approach is merely a temporary solution; those who are unhoused will simply be forced to find another location, which may not be as safe as the government center parking lot.
Maybe you missed this part “The people living at the lot will be charged with a misdemeanor after they receive two written warnings and they decline two offers of shelter.”
They are trying to help the people by getting them shelter but you can’t force somebody to take the help.
When is this from? I have not seen any of these cars in the lot. They must be cloaked.
LifeMoves won’t do anything for these people. But hiring LifeMoves makes the people in government feel like they’re solving a problem. The money LifeMoves will get siphoned off by high-paid staff and, in the end, these people will remain homeless. Oh, think I’m wrong? Visit the Opportunity Center in Palo Alto and ask how many street people they’ve turned into productive citizens with good paying jobs. You won’t get an answer.