Homeless for the holidays: RV parking lot offers Christmas joy to people living in vehicles
EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. — Christmas often conjures a host of happy images. Sparkling trees, roaring hearths, family gatherings.
Ruben Almazo, 54, has none of that, but he is grateful nonetheless this holiday season. He used to park his RV, currently his home on wheels, on local streets. Robbery was a concern. "It was hard to sleep," he says.
But since May, Almazo and a dozen other area RV dwellers have called this Safe Parking Lot home. And this past Saturday, Christmas cheer came to them.
"Come on everyone, in Spanish and English, sing along, 'Feliz Navidad,'" said the Rev. Paul Bains, founder of Project WeHOPE, which worked with city officials to establish the lot.
A cracking chorus of happy voices, from pre-teens to grandparents joined Bains. Then donuts were served, a tree trimmed and presents dispensed.
