Last Remaining Encampment Residents Await Dwindling Housing Vouchers In Marin County

By Ruth Dusseault, Bay City News

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Through the cold wet winter, Marin County's efforts to relocate unhoused residents in a vehicle encampment near Novato have continued amid hurdles.

A shortage of Section 8 housing vouchers since 2024 has left many of those who remain unclear where they stand with county services.

The Binford Road vehicle encampment, which grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic and once stretched nearly two miles with 150 vehicles, has been gradually shrinking. County officials report that relocation efforts have reduced the number to about 65 vehicles and 45 people.

The county is developing a temporary rent support program funded through Encampment Resolution Funds for chronically homeless individuals who are eligible for Section 8, according to Samantha Thompson, spokesperson for Marin County Health and Human Services.

"This program would cover rent payments for up to one year, with the goal of supporting eligible participants until the Housing Authority is able to issue additional Section 8 vouchers once the current voucher shortfall is resolved," she said.

Some encampment residents are worried the rental assistance program will not cover everyone. Three-year Binford Road resident Sean Derning fits all the criteria for support services and placement, according to his advocate Robbie Powelson.

"But all the work he did with his past case workers from Downtown Streets Team seems to have gone up in smoke since their organization went out of business last year," said Powelson, referring to the previous social service organization which closed in October. The new social service provider for Binford Road, Episcopal Community Services, just started their contract Dec. 1. Powelson said the county sent forms this week to open communication with the new provider and initiate the process for the rental program.

"The number of individuals to be served depends on the cost and availability of housing units in the community," said Thompson.

Cost and availability of housing is the elephant-in-the-room in Marin County.

Approximately 9,382 low-income renter households in Marin County do not have access to an affordable home, according to a 2025 study by the California Housing Partnership, a private nonprofit created by the Legislature to research housing policy. Renters need to earn over $56 per hour to afford the average asking rent, the report said, and state and federal funding for housing production in the county has decreased 26% since 2022.

In 2024, Marin County received three separate state Encampment Resolution Fund grants. About $8.7 million is going to help displaced farm workers and others in West Marin, nearly $6 million has been earmarked for a community of unhoused in San Rafael, and another $3.7 million is going to support services aimed at resolving the Binford encampment.

The Binford grant program runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027. Separately, the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved $50,000 for a one-time program to buy RVs and give people funds to use at their own discretion.

The county has provided garbage service to Binford, as well as other sanitary services, like hand washing stations and portable toilets, according to Brian Washington in the county counsel's office.

Binford Road remains a quasi-sanctioned encampment area. Unlike a sanctioned camping area established by the city of San Rafael along Mahon Creek Path, the site is not physically closed or gated. However, no new individuals or RVs are allowed to locate at Binford Road, said Thompson, and current residents are required to comply with County-established rules and protocols, including restrictions on placing belongings in the public right-of-way.

Derning has lost heating in his non-operational RV. He suffers from PTSD and anxiety and is recovering from a recent staph infection, according to his advocate Powelson. Derning is receiving CalFresh food assistance and medical and mental health services through Medi-Cal and from county-contracted providers such as Ritter Center mobile health services, Mental Health Advocates of Marin, Marin Peer Resource Community Collective, Bethany Project Marin and The Street Chaplaincy, Powelson said, but Derning is fearful of being evicted.

The county counsel said Thursday that there is no court ordered deadline for Derning to remove his vehicle.

A year ago, the Sheriff's Office attempted to tow Derning's RV, citing repeated cleanups at his site and extensive debris encroaching into the right-of-way. Powelson said the Sherrif's Office is now seeking an abatement warrant.

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