East Palo Alto is not the same as Palo Alto at all. I can definitely believe that is at least feasible then, although they do not list a residency requirement on their website. The only requirement is:
Must have a referral from a San Mateo County, or Santa Clara County Partner Organization to receive shelter.
They may be legally distinct, but we can agree that they're physically adjacent, and thus for someone who's unhoused in the Bay Area, they're both options on where to live. I don't think an invisible line that anybody can cross without any sort of border control really that important a distinction here.
I would never call them the same. East Palo Alto is much much poorer than Palo Alto; I think I would be laughed at when I was living in San Mateo if I ever tried to pass off a location in East Palo Alto as being in Palo Alto. One is full of Stanford kids and rich people, the other is full of poor people. Highway 101 isn’t a very invisible line.
I wouldn't call them the same either, but the context here is being unhoused in the Bay Area. I'm not, thankfully, but when I was living in PA I definitely met a few people who dropped East when referring to where they live. Anyway, it's too late to edit my original comment.
Must have a referral from a San Mateo County, or Santa Clara County Partner Organization to receive shelter.