The Stayover Program is facilitated by Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School. This is a program for unhoused families with children in SFUSD to have somewhere safe and warm to be until they can find permanent housing (which the program helps with). This series talks about some of the people who participate in the Stayover Program.
Aida is a single mother of three. Two daughters and one son. She came from Honduras, but instead of being met with the better life she wanted, she was faced with many challenges.
Aida and her family went into the BVHM shelter in July 2024 and left in December of that year.
They found out about the shelter through a friend who had already stayed there. The main reason that ended up in them having to stay there was the separation of Aida and her ex-husband, who stayed in the home they were living in.
Aida went through domestic abuse throughout her relationship with her ex-husband. One of the main things that surprises her is that there is no support for women who have suffered through these kinds of situations.
“Muchos dicen que ‘oh tú te puedes salir’ o ‘puede llamar a la policía’ pero no saben que va a hacer la persona después de llamar a la policía. Porque llega la policía, lo arresta, pero ¿qué va a pasar contigo? ¿Si no trabajas? ¿Si no tienes un lugar dónde estar o familia cerca?”
Many say that you can just leave the relationship and that everything will be okay, but what happens after, especially if you don’t have a job or family nearby to stay with?
Some of the difficulties she felt while in the shelter were that you had to leave at 7:00 am and come back at 7:00 pm and some of the attitudes of people who are staying there. There were lots of complaints about the shelter. Many wanted it to meet certain expectations and wanted conditions to be perfect.
“Es entendible, pero el problema es que esas personas crean problemas para que puedan cambiar rápido al lugar. Y las cosas no funcionan así.” People in the shelter start creating problems because they want it to change fast and to their liking. She’s expressing that everything needs its time.
The food, while it was good at certain times, she felt that it wasn’t enough.
“El cereal, pues, un niño no se va a llenar con solo una cajita, pero pues lo que hay es mejor que no tener nada.”
The cereal for breakfast isn’t enough to satisfy a child’s hunger for the day.
This isn’t the first time Aida has had to live in a shelter. During the pandemic, she stayed in the Hamilton Shelter due to not being able to afford housing. One of the biggest differences between BVHM and Hamilton is that it was a 24/7 shelter and the rooms were shared, while BVHM has no rooms, only divided areas with curtains.
Being in the shelter with her children was hard for her. Her children were sad and upset because they didn’t have the privacy they were used to anymore. Although they were not affected by the move in school, they had to switch schools and they all started at different times, one at 7:50 A.M., and the other two at 9:30 A.M.
Her current job, housecleaning, doesn’t make enough money to support three kids. Since her children are too young to work, her income has to support all four of them.
Aida works two to three days a week and cleans about five to six houses a day. This varies on how the day is, but she usually starts working at 7:50 A.M. and ends at around 5:30-6:00 P.M. Since she gets out of work so late, she can’t pick up her kids from school, so they go to the library.
But not only is Aida worried about her housing situation, she is also worried about the new President of the United States. She feels in a sort of limbo situation where she doesn’t know what her future is going to be.
We asked Aida how she was able to leave the shelter, and she said that you don’t leave the shelter just like that, but you have to go on a list for private rooms. The people who are in charge of the program move you.
Now, she lives in a hotel in San Francisco that she found through a program. But she’s expressing worry over the new rules about being in a shelter. There are limits on how long you can stay in one place, and then they’ll move you or remove you completely. Given the context of our current administration, these are Aida’s current realities.
To see Part 1 of the series, visit: https://missionchronicle.org/1802/features/inside-the-buena-vista-horace-mann-stayover-program-part-1/
