San Francisco High School Student Faces Eviction After His Grandmother Dies

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- A Galileo High School student is facing eviction from a public housing complex after his grandmother died. It is a complicated legal battle with an 18-year-old in the middle.

Terrance Hall has lived in a two-bedroom unit with this grandmother at the Valencia Gardens complex at Valencia and 15th streets in San Francisco for the past 13 years. When his grandmother Patricia Harrison died on Feb. 17 at age 70, Hall was not expecting to have to leave.

Hall says that, a few days after his grandmother died, an eviction notice was posted on his front door.

Hall has been to several court hearings where lawyers for the property management company say there was a history of crime in the unit that warrants eviction. But attorneys for Hall say he was a minor at the time and not involved in the alleged crimes.

A judge this week ruled that Hall could stay -- at least for now.

But that leaves Hall not knowing what's next and, he says, the stress has caused him to miss school and he is having trouble focusing.

"I can't focus at all," he told KPIX. "Every time I think about the situation and all of this stuff and the tragedy, I don't want to be there."

In a statement, the managers of Valencia Gardens tell KPIX they pursue evictions "only as a last resort and only when necessary to protect the safety and rights of the other residents of a property." They went on to say they've been working to find "more appropriate housing" for Hall and offered to provide a hotel during the transition.

Hall says his goal is to finish high school, play sports again and get to work but, for now, his future at the only home he has ever known is in the hands of the legal system.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.