Hi, I have not been here for a while as I was so sick I could not even read any more. I am now desperately looking for a room in SF bay area . I cant afford an apartment and my disability case was denied about 2 years ago, but I can pay rent. If I do not find a place within 2 weeks I will have to live in my car until I find a place. I just do not know how I am going to do this car living with this debilitating pain and fatigue.
A very short-term solution but check out Northern California hostels -- I think the limit for staying in them is 2 weeks but at least it will buy you some time:
http://www.norcalhostels.org/
As you well know, the SF Bay area is really expensive -- I'm glad I own my place as at this point, some rentals are costlier than my mortgage. Are there specific areas you are looking at? There are parts that are slightly cheaper like parts of the East Bay/ Oakland, San Jose, Daly City, SSF, etc.
Not sure if you have looked into it, but there are programs you might qualify for -- e.g. Section 8.
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8
When I first came to the US, we were poor. I remember my mom's desperate search for housing and how long it took to find something safe and clean. We were fortunate that an acquaintance vouched for our family and another family was willing to rent us one of their houses for a reasonable price.
Here are some affordable housing links. HIP is a program that matches seniors/ people with rooms to people who need them; in some cases, the rent is further reduced if the person can help out with certain light household chores but you'll have to look at each situation. Some version of HIP probably exists in other areas.
http://hiphousing.org/
http://sf-moh.org/index.aspx?page=130
http://sfha.org/Public-Housing-Information.html
http://www.bridgehousing.com/
http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/hcd/s/AffordableHousing/index.htm
http://www.midpen-housing.org/about-midpen/our-history-mission/
http://www.sf-moh.org/index.aspx?page=1147 [seniors and disabled]
http://www.ilrcsf.org/get-support/housing/ [holds free low-income housing workshop for disable folks]
Also, call local university housing offices or check out their bulletin boards. Some housing offices deal not only with university dorms but off-campus housing.
Even if they don't have places that fit you, you might ask them who you can contact to get more help. Good luck.