Next Stop Unknown for Transients at Transbay Terminal

On August 7, the Transbay Terminal will shut down for demolition while a temporary station will open two blocks away. As the structure built during the Great Depression gives way to a sleek open-air station of the 21st century, homeless people apparently will be written out of its history.

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority placed signs announcing the move, including a banner about the Terminal’s lower level where approximately 100 homeless people rest on the wooden benches or sleep outside the facility. The Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) set up a temporary base in the Terminal where its staff attempt to persuade homeless folks into going to a shelter before the demolition.

Street Sheet learned that on July 24 the California Highway Patrol cleared out some 80 people, some of whom relocated beneath a highway overpass on Beale Street. About 30 people returned a few nights later.

Among those being displaced is Steve, a 52-year-old Army veteran who is two weeks homeless. Steve, who declined to give his last name, said the station affords him temporary comfort other places wouldn’t give during the daytime. On his first night outdoors, he slept under a bridge, only to be awakened by a street-cleaning vehicle at 4:30 a.m.

“It’s pretty awesome they let people sleep here until 7:30 p.m.,” he said.

Steve has been approached by the HOT Team, but found the services offered to be lean. On the night Street Sheet spoke to Steve, the outreach workers told him three beds specifically allotted to the HOT Team were available at the Multi-Service Center - South, the nearest available shelter. The shelter has a maximum accommodation of 330. He was also told the best way of securing a bed is by reserving one at the resource center at 150 Otis St., almost two miles away.

Jason Albertson, who is leading the HOT Team at the terminal, told the San Francisco Chronicle that it could take up to six months to put some of them in supportive housing. While the HOT Team apparently has access to some temporary stabilization rooms — a step up from shelters — it does not have adequate case management to actually allot the rooms. Some social and health care workers have opined that many of the residents of Transbay, who are experiencing various mental illnesses, would not fare well in the shelter system.

Steve, who suffers from head trauma, was told by the HOT Team that available services are tied to drug and alcohol treatment. He prefers treatment through the Veterans Administration.

Steve wears just enough clothing that can be easily washed to avoid the appearance of being homeless.

“There’s some lost people,” Steve said of the other Terminal occupants. “It’s kind of scary. I don’t want to be like this.”

But he’s not sure what will happen.

“It’s hard to predict [where they’ll go],” Steve said. “That’s probably why they’re forewarning people.”