On Wednesday morning, as San Francisco crews towed RVs in the Bayview, Yerservi M. and his pregnant wife Katia S., stayed inside their home, terrified that stepping out would mean losing it. Officials eventually left, towing three unattended RV homes without permits instead.
Hours later, the threat of a tow truck was replaced by a different city presence: investigators questioning the couple about a city worker with the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) team who they say sold them a parking permit they desperately needed for $500 in cash.
After weeks of having their appeals for a Large Vehicle Refuge Permit denied, the couple said they felt they were running out of options.
According to the couple, whose last names are withheld for privacy, a van emblazoned with “HOT” branding pulled up alongside their RV in the Bayview during the afternoon on Nov. 19. The outreach worker lowered the window, accepted an initial installment of $100 in cash and handed him a permit sticker — the only exemption from the city’s new two-hour RV parking rules and a permit that is supposed to be issued free of charge to qualifying households.
The couple said the worker instructed Yerservi to place the sticker on the RV window at night and told them they would need to pay the remaining balance the following week.
“The next morning, I woke up, and it was gone,” Katia said. “I regret not taking a photo of it.”
Adhesive residue consistent with the size and shape of a Large Vehicle Refuge Permit sticker remains visible on the window of the couple’s RV.
The couple told El Tecolote about the alleged permit sale the following day, on Nov. 20. After the newsroom contacted the Department of Emergency Management, city officials said permits are not for sale and that the allegation would be taken seriously. El Tecolote’s inquiry was quickly escalated to senior city officials.
“When something like this happens, they need to pause their [program],” said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness. “It just opens up the door for exploitation, and that’s exactly what happens.”
Friedenbach said her organization also received reports from other unpermitted RV residents in November alleging that a HOT outreach worker was offering to sell refuge permits. She notified HOT officials on Nov. 19 and was scheduled to discuss the allegations on Nov. 21 but did not hear back.
“They just totally ghosted me,” she said, adding that she later filed a whistleblower complaint with the city.
A vulnerable community gets targeted for exploitation
In text messages and a voice memo obtained by El Tecolote, Yerservi communicated for weeks with the outreach worker in Spanish. The calls took place first on a city-issued phone, before moving over to the worker’s personal number, where Yerservi sent at least six messages in an attempt to get his money back.
In one text on Nov. 24, Yerservi wrote, “You are really playing with the necessities of people.”
The following day the outreach worker responded in a voice memo, saying he would return the money on his own and that “everything went bad.” He added that he did not know what had happened with “the other guy,” or if “he got in trouble.” It remains unclear who that individual is or whether they work for HOT.
“He told me many times that he would give me my money back, but he always claimed that he was sick, or that his friend had the money,” Yerservi told El Tecolote. “He told me to stop calling him on his work phone, because they were investigating them.”
On Nov. 26, the outreach worker replied: “Annoying brat, I didn’t go to work today.”
Still without his money back, Yerservi sent two more messages on Dec. 2. At 1:01 p.m., the outreach worker responded with laughing and middle-finger emojis, marking what appears to be the last communication between the two.
The couple described the worker as a man with a long beard and a medium build, who spoke with what they identified as a Cuban or Puerto Rican accent and wore a green “HOT” work jacket.
When El Tecolote asked the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing who the city-issued phone number belonged to, spokesperson Emily Cohen declined to comment. Records reviewed by El Tecolote show the number was previously assigned to Rann Parker, who served as director of the Homeless Outreach Team in 2015.
How San Francisco is responding to oversight
City officials said the allegation is under investigation and did not dispute the authenticity of the messages reviewed by El Tecolote.
“We take any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously,” Jackie Thornhill, communications manager for the Department of Emergency Management, wrote in an email. “The city took the appropriate action when notified, and the matter is being investigated. We remain committed to the integrity of this program and to ensuring it operates fairly, transparently, and in service of those it is intended to help.”
Yet the city’s oversight of the program appears limited.
In response to a public records request on Nov. 7 seeking any data the Mayor’s Office maintains to track the issuance of RV permits, the city issued four separate “no responsive records” determinations, indicating the office holds no such data.
When asked why the office that initiated the program does not track permit issuance or enforcement outcomes, particularly in light of the allegations, a spokesperson for the Mayor declined to comment.
For Katia and her husband, there is little time to wait. Without the permit, and having to deal with the city at their doorstep every week, the anxiety has set in.
The 30-year-old is scheduled to give birth in less than two weeks, but is unsure if they will return with their RV still there.
“Where am I going to go with my baby?” she said.
Yesica Prado contributed investigative research to this story.