Photo essay: San Franciscans struggle to keep their mobile residences (SF Public Press)

by Yesica Prado July 31, 2020, 9:10 amJune 22, 2025, 1:35 pm

Yesica Prado / San Francisco Public Press and CatchLight Local Tantay Tolbert surveys the street for parking options from the driver’s seat of her recreational vehicle. On this morning, Tolbert received a 72-hour notice to move the vehicle or it would be towed. She parks in an industrial part of Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco’s District 10, which is home to an estimated 45% of vehicle dwellers citywide.

On this morning, Tolbert prepares a bucket of water to scrub the shower inside her recreational vehicle. She takes care of her home and is grateful to have a place to call her own. “In Las Vegas, there’s people living in tunnels,” she said. “Our little RV is a mansion. We are living like kings and queens compared to them over there.”