A s city and state officials scratch their heads while trying to find solutions to California’s homelessness problem, viable answers are slow to surface. In the midst of the debates around the situation is the fallible understanding of the makeup of the homeless population itself. Many assume it must be addiction or mental-health problems that land people in the unfortunate situation. Those assumptions often miss the mark as mentally healthy, employed people are finding themselves unable or unwilling to continue to pay exorbitant housing costs. Among their ranks are also those who have held a long career, retired and find they can no longer afford housing costs in the area. Some leave the state in search of cheaper housing, while others are simply moving into their vehicle so they can stay near family, friends or work. One reason for the continued misconception about those who are no longer in a home is that many “car dwellers” are not counted among the homeless. A growing number of those who have chosen to leave their “sticks and bricks” home do not want to risk sharing that choice with others—out of fear of losing their job or being ostracized by their community. Among that demographic is a large and growing number of solo women who are living in their vehicles. In recent months, NBb spoke with three North Bay women about this “houseless” lifestyle. The women agreed to share their stories with an understanding they would not be identified—their names have been changed for the purposes of the article.
family moved to Marin County. She enjoyed living in the area and going to school there. She remembers that the hillside across from her high school was filled with lupine and other wildflowers and the football team would run through them up and down the hill during practices. “When I got my driver’s license, I would get up early on the weekends, drive to Point Reyes and pick up fresh-made donuts on the way home,” Kim says. “I guess I got the driving and travelers bug early, always with one foot out the door.” She attended the College of Marin before going away to San Jose State University. She had a long career at UCSF where she did administrative work. She describes how sweet it was to ride her bicycle through Golden Gate Park in the morning on her way to work. She became involved in the local bike coalition, a women’s art gallery and a local film association where she volunteered ushering at film festivals. She kept her home and raised her children and saw to her career. Then it was time for her to do something for herself. She retired in 2019 from UCSF, bought a school bus and built it out for living in and traveling. “I always knew that was something I wanted to do,” Kim says. “I went to a retirement meeting. It was kind of like a therapy session with a group of other people. And they said, draw your retirement dream. Mine was running from UCSF into my school bus, and that was like three years before I actually retired.” Her rent was $1,500, not including utilities. She knew that her pension and social security would not cover that and allow her to have any other kind of life. “I would have to go back to work someplace else and I really didn't want to do that,” she says. “I had worked for 45 years, and I just thought: I'll be damned if I'm going to continue working.”
Kim from Marin County It was the late 1960s and Kim was in the eighth grade when her
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24 NorthBaybiz
December 2024
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