GATEHOUSE Privacy Notice

GATEHOUSE collects only what it needs to run, never sells your information, and shares a help request with an outside agency only with your OK.

Pathfinders for Hope · Effective October 12, 2026

GATEHOUSE is the community platform run by Pathfinders for Hope, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Vallejo, California (EIN 99-5142558). GATEHOUSE is our community platform, where Pathfinders for Hope does your intake, barrier review and the calls to agencies. The platform is built and maintained by Ninety-Nine Systems, Inc. for Pathfinders for Hope.

This notice explains what GATEHOUSE collects, why, who can see it, and what you can do about it. It goes with the GATEHOUSE Terms of Use and adds to the Pathfinders for Hope Privacy Policy, which still covers the rest of the website. If the two ever disagree about GATEHOUSE, this notice controls.

The short version

We collect what you give us and what the platform needs to run. Nothing more on purpose.
We do not sell your information. We do not rent it, trade it or use it for advertising.
Your profile and posts are seen by other members. Your Chat messages are seen by the people in the chat.
A help request, and what you tell us in an intake by phone, goes only to the Pathfinders for Hope team. We share it with an outside agency only with your OK, to make the handoff.
GATEHOUSE is not an emergency service, a medical provider or a government agency.
You can see, download, correct or delete your information. Email support@pathfindersforhope.org.

In danger right now? Call 911. Thinking about suicide or hurting yourself? Call or text 988. Need shelter, food or services? Call 211 (open 24 hours, anywhere in California).

1. Who this applies to

This notice applies to anyone who:

creates a GATEHOUSE account;
uses a GATEHOUSE page (Feed, Chat, Spaces, Events, Get help, Resources, Voice board, Field Mode, the Academy and the rest of the app);
calls our intake line, (707) 205-7588, or does an intake with our team in person or in the field;
sends a help request or a “Didn’t get the help?” report, even without an account.

Age: GATEHOUSE is for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has an account, tell us and we will remove it.

2. What we collect

Information you give us

What	When	Who sees it
Name, username, email, password	Creating an account	Your name and username are visible to members. Email and password are not shown to anyone. (Passwords are stored encrypted. We cannot read them.)
Your “Who are you?” answer and, if you pick “Agency or nonprofit staff”, your agency name (optional)	Creating an account	Members can see your “Who are you?” answer. Only the GATEHOUSE team sees your agency name. We use it to confirm that you work for an agency before we turn on agency tools such as the Help desk.
Profile details and photos (cover photo, avatar, “about” fields, organization)	Editing your profile	Depends on the visibility you choose for each field in Settings > Privacy
Posts, comments, reactions, replies, Voice board ideas and votes, event RSVPs	Using the Feed, Spaces, Events, Voice board	Other signed-in members
Chat messages	Using Chat	The people in that conversation (see section 4)
Help requests: name, how to reach you (phone or email), what you need, where you are in general terms, and anything else you type	Using Get help	Pathfinders for Hope staff only (see section 3)
Phone intake: your name (or a temporary label if you would rather not give it), how to reach you, veteran status, where the intake happens, how you came to us, your answers to a few safety questions, the barriers between you and housing, and the agencies we call for you and what they said. Only if you choose to answer: your substance use, which ID or documents you have, and how long you have been without stable housing	Calling (707) 205-7588, or an intake with our team in person or in the field	Pathfinders for Hope staff with administrator access only (see section 3)
“Didn’t get the help?” reports: what happened, which agency or program, your contact details if you give them	Using the report form	Pathfinders for Hope staff only. Public numbers are counts with no names.
Agency and partner details (organization, role, work email, phone)	Listing your agency, requesting a briefing, partner forms	Pathfinders for Hope staff; organization names you choose to list may be public

Photos: when you upload a JPEG photo, GATEHOUSE removes the location and camera details stored inside the file. Only the rotation setting is kept.

Information collected automatically

Account activity: when you sign in, last active time, notifications, what you have read.
Chat presence: an “online” dot, “typing…” and “Seen” markers. You can turn off being shown online in your settings.
Field Mode: counts of contacts an outreach worker logs, with the general area and type of need. Field Mode does not record names or GPS location.
Device and server logs: IP address, browser type, pages requested, and error logs, kept by our hosting provider for security and troubleshooting.
Cookies and local storage: cookies that keep you signed in, remember your language (English, Spanish or Tagalog) and remember your cookie choice. Field Mode can save pages on your phone so they work offline.
Analytics (only if you allow it): Google Analytics runs only after you accept “statistics” cookies in our cookie banner. Our event tracking records which buttons were clicked and on what page, never your name, email or what you typed. Change your choice any time on the Cookie Policy page.

Please do not share

Do not put Social Security numbers, medical records, diagnoses, immigration documents, bank or card numbers, case file numbers, or passwords anywhere on GATEHOUSE, including Chat and help requests. We do not need them, and we do not want to hold them. An intake is different: our team asks the questions, and you can tell us you would rather not answer a question, and we go on with what we have. We write down which documents you have (for example, “California ID”), never their numbers, and we never ask for copies. We ask about substance use only to find a program that fits, and your answer is never a reason to turn you away.

3. Help requests and intake (Get help)

When you ask for help, a Pathfinders for Hope staff member reads your request, looks for the right agency or program, and works on a handoff.

Intake by phone: when you call (707) 205-7588, a staff member first explains what we write down and who sees it, and starts only with your OK. Then we look at what stands between you and housing (the barrier review) and call agencies for you. We write down each call and what the agency said. If you agree to a follow-up, we check back with you the way you choose.
Who sees it: only Pathfinders for Hope staff with administrator access. Other members and the public never see your request. The public page shows only totals (for example, how many requests are open or handed off), never names or details.
What gets counted: the results of our calls to agencies are counted. Our staff see which agencies helped and which did not (The Glass). The public Real Results page shows only totals, never names, agency names or case numbers, and any number from 1 to 4 is shown as “fewer than 5” so no one can be picked out.
Sharing with an agency: when you send a request, you agree that our team can contact you about it. We share your details with an agency only with your OK, and only what that agency needs to help you (usually your first name, how to reach you and what you need).
Follow-up: if you give an email and tick “Email me”, we may send one follow-up email about 3 days later to ask whether you got the help.
Not a guarantee: we try to find help for every request, but we cannot promise any agency will accept a referral or provide a service. We are not a shelter, a benefits office or a case manager.

4. Chat

Chat messages are private between the people in the conversation. Other members cannot read them.

Chat is not end-to-end encrypted. Messages are stored on our servers. Pathfinders for Hope administrators can access messages when it is needed to investigate a report of abuse, threats, spam or a safety concern, to keep the platform working, or when the law requires it. We do not read Chat for any other reason.

Safety note: if someone else can get into your phone or computer, they may be able to see your Chat and activity. Sign out on shared devices. If you are worried about someone monitoring you, use a device they cannot access.

5. How we use information

We use information to:

run GATEHOUSE and your account;
deliver posts, Chat, notifications and emails you asked for;
handle help requests, handoffs and follow-ups;
show public totals (counts and percentages, never names) that show whether the system is working;
keep the platform safe: stop spam, abuse, fake accounts and break-ins;
fix problems and improve GATEHOUSE and Operation Iron Gate;
follow the law.

When we use GATEHOUSE information to report on or improve Operation Iron Gate, or to tell funders and the public how the pilot is doing, we use totals or information with names and contact details removed.

6. Who we share it with

We share information only in these cases:

Other members: what you post and the profile fields you make visible.
Agencies, for a handoff, with your OK (section 3).
Service providers who run the platform for us, only as far as they need to do that job: our web host (Hostinger), our email delivery service (Google), our cookie consent tool (WPConsent), Google Analytics (only with your consent), our form provider (Paperform) for briefing and partner forms, and Ninety-Nine Systems, Inc., which builds and maintains GATEHOUSE. They may not use your information for their own purposes.
Safety and the law: when we believe in good faith it is needed to protect someone from serious harm, to answer a valid subpoena, court order or other legal process, or to protect the rights and safety of our members, staff or Pathfinders for Hope. Where the law allows, we will try to tell you first.
If Pathfinders for Hope changes: if GATEHOUSE is transferred to another nonprofit or organization (for example, in a merger), your information may move with it under the same protections in this notice. We will tell members before that happens.

We never sell, rent or trade personal information, and we never share it for advertising.

7. How long do we keep it?

Your account and content: until you delete your account. Some copies can stay in backups for up to 90 days.
Help requests, intakes and reports: we erase your name, contact details, answers and notes 30 days after the last activity on your case or request, or sooner if you ask. Only the counts stay (for example, how many calls we made and what the agencies said), with no name on them.
Field Mode counts: kept as counts; they contain no names.
Server logs: usually 30 days or less, unless needed to investigate a security problem.
We may keep information longer if the law requires it or there is an open safety or legal matter.

8. Your choices and rights

You can:

See and download your data: Settings > Your data > Export.
Correct it: edit your profile any time.
Control who sees your profile fields: Settings > Privacy.
Turn off emails: Settings > Notifications.
Hide when you are online in Chat.
Delete your account: Settings > Delete account. Your profile, posts, messages and GATEHOUSE activity records (such as your votes) are removed. Messages you sent may stay in the other person’s copy of a conversation until they delete it.
Ask us anything, or ask us to delete a help request, intake or report: email support@pathfindersforhope.org.

We answer requests within 30 days. We may ask you to confirm who you are first, so we do not hand your information to the wrong person. Pathfinders for Hope is a nonprofit, and some privacy laws do not apply to nonprofits, but we honor these requests for every member wherever they live.

9. Security

We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, members-only pages, admin-only access to help requests, limits on repeated sign-in attempts, a second sign-in step (a code sent by email) that is required for staff and administrator accounts, backups that are not publicly accessible, and removal of location data from the photos you upload. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee that information will never be accessed without permission. If a breach affects your personal information, we will tell you as the law requires.

Keep your password private and do not reuse it on other sites.

10. What GATEHOUSE is not

Not an emergency service. Nobody watches GATEHOUSE around the clock. Call 911 in an emergency.
Not a health care provider. GATEHOUSE is not a medical record system and is not covered by HIPAA. Do not post health information. If you tell us about your health or substance use during an intake, only our staff see it, and we use it only to find help that fits.
Not a government agency and not part of any city or county system. Joining GATEHOUSE does not put you or your agency in the North Bay Pilot; the pilot runs only in Vallejo and Solano County.

11. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice as GATEHOUSE changes. The effective date at the top will change. If a change affects how we use or share your information in a meaningful way, we will post it in GATEHOUSE and email members before it takes effect.

12. Contact

Pathfinders for Hope · Vallejo, California
Email: support@pathfindersforhope.org
Phone: (707) 205-7588