IN JANUARY 2022, when the city announced a new program in Bayview with the opaque title “vehicle triage center,” it seemed a rare win-win in the world of big city homelessness strategy.  

The Bayview VTC would offer a “safe parking” area where people living in their cars or RVs could access electric service, showers and sanitary facilities, all in a 24/7 secure location supported by the full panoply of city-contracted “wraparound services.” Residents would also have access to city workers knowledgeable about the process of securing permanent housing.   

Continue reading for free

Sign in to read this story and receive the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Or

Terms & Conditions

Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Please visit My Account to manage your account.

Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.