San Francisco, Jan 22 (IANS): San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) have announced the opening of a new centre which will deliver critical services to people living in vehicles.

The Bayview Vehicle Triage Centre (VTC) at the Candlestick State Recreation Area Boat Launch Parking Lot will provide a safe space to sleep and access to stabilizing services for people experiencing vehicular homelessness, the announcement said.

The Bayview VTC will include up to 135 parking spaces for 203 people, 24/7 staffing and security, bathrooms, mobile shower facilities, potable water, and mobile blackwater pumping services, Xinhua news agency cited the announcement as saying.

"As we continue to move forward with our Homelessness Recovery Plan, we must find solutions for people living in their RVs or their cars and provide them with a path out of homelessness," said Breed.

"The purpose of the Bayview VTC is to offer stability to individuals and families and to provide a transition from living in vehicles to housing and services that offer an end to their homelessness," said Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director of San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

"As we continue to face tough challenges during these unprecedented times of the pandemic, State Parks is proud to partner with the City and County of San Francisco to help ease the homelessness issue in the Bayview community," said Maria Mowrey, Bay Area District Superintendent of California State Parks.

The city has more than 8,000 homeless people, of which 1,730 people are currently temporarily housed in hotel rooms and up to 260 people live at sanctioned encampments.