A handoff closes on confirmation
A referral is not finished when it is sent. It is finished when the receiving organization confirms the person arrived.
For Fremont organizations
Fremont referrals should match the need
Operation Iron Gate is referral tracking and accountability for homeless services, from Pathfinders for Hope. It is built so every case, every handoff and every outcome can be seen and proven. The first pilot is being prepared in Vallejo, and Fremont organizations can follow it in the open and ask to be briefed.
What Operation Iron Gate is
What a Fremont referral would prove
Homelessness solutions stop at the referral. Operation Iron Gate closes the gap they leave open. It strengthens continuity after the intake and assessment that Alameda County Health's Housing and Homelessness Services and Fremont providers already run, with documented handoffs and follow-up.
Nothing closes into “unknown”
There is no exit state in the record that can hold an unknown destination. A case cannot be closed into nothing.
Consent comes before the record
A record cannot exist without a consent step recorded first. Saying no to part of it does not close the door.
What it can do
Four rules the pilot is built on
No ID at the door
An identification barrier should not end an authorized handoff. The proposed Iron Gate Access Credential does not promise same-day eligibility, housing or availability.
Yes by default
The proposed workflow requires a documented decision basis before an authorized denial is recorded.
No dead ends
“Unknown” is not a completed outcome. A handoff stays open until a responsible role records a known next action or an authorized closure.
Tracked handoff
Sending is not closure. The receiving organization’s confirmation is its own status, because sent is not the same as served.
Why it matters
Where Fremont referrals break
Most people outside live in a car or RV
In Fremont's 2024 count, 612 people were unsheltered and 195 sheltered, and 62 percent of the unsheltered were living in a vehicle or RV. A referral for someone who sleeps in a car has to reach a person who moves.
One in three exits to “unknown”
California spent $24 billion on homelessness from 2018 to 2023. Its State Auditor found that nearly one in three people left programs for a destination nobody recorded. Report 2023-102.1.
A new door built for medical needs
Natalie's Place, 150 units of interim housing with medical care in the former Motel 6 in Warm Springs, began taking residents in September 2026 and is expected to double the city's shelter capacity. A referral has to match the person to the right door, not just any open one.
Get involved
How Fremont organizations can get involved
The North Bay Pilot is recruiting organizations that send referrals, receive referrals, provide a resource, or carry public responsibility for homeless services. Fremont organizations in any of those roles can watch it now and ask to be briefed.
Follow the North Bay Pilot
The measurement standard is published before the pilot begins, with housing held at 90 days as the lead measure. Results go on The Glass, a public view with no names or case identifiers, whether they are good or bad. See the pilot.
Request a briefing
Tell us your role in Fremont: whether you send referrals, receive them, provide a resource or oversee public outcomes. Request a briefing.
Your work stays yours
Your services, clients, funding and data stay yours. Read what Operation Iron Gate is and the questions directors ask.
The questions
Operation Iron Gate in Fremont: questions
Is Operation Iron Gate running in Fremont?
No. It has not launched anywhere. The first pilot is being prepared in Vallejo, and no Fremont launch has been announced.
What did the latest count find in Fremont?
The January 2026 count for the City of Fremont recorded 852 people homeless in Fremont. Up from 807 in 2024, while Alameda County fell 13 percent. Fremont holds about 10 percent of the county's count. Fremont counted 1,026 people in 2022. The 2026 split between sheltered and unsheltered has not been published yet.
What else is happening in Fremont?
South County, which includes Fremont, counted 1,064 people, against 1,074 in 2024. Fremont's Housing Navigation Center, open since September 2020, had housed 293 people by June 30, 2025, and 60 percent of the 258 people who left it moved into stable housing. The city also runs a Safe Parking Program for people living in vehicles and a Mobile Evaluation Team with police, Human Services and Washington Hospital.
Can a Fremont organization take part?
Cohort 01 is recruiting in Vallejo. A Fremont organization can request a briefing now. The first conversation is exploratory, and nothing is signed in it.
Does this replace Alameda County's system?
No. Operation Iron Gate is not a replacement for Alameda County Health's Housing and Homelessness Services, the Fremont Family Resource Center or any provider's own records. It is built to confirm that a referral between organizations reached the person.
I need help myself. Where do I go?
Call 211 for current local referral information. For food, the Alameda County Community Food Bank lists distribution sites across the area. Operation Iron Gate is not open for public intake yet. GATEHOUSE, our community platform and a smaller version of Operation Iron Gate, is open now: register on GATEHOUSE to ask questions and follow the build. Joining GATEHOUSE does not put you in the North Bay Pilot, which runs only in Vallejo and Solano County.
The evidence
Every figure is cited
Where these figures come from. Fremont: Alameda County, 2026 Point-in-Time Count initial results. Fremont 2024 Point-in-Time Count infographic. Patch, Natalie's Place. City of Fremont, September 2026 update. City of Fremont, Housing Navigation Center. City of Fremont, Homeless Services. Statewide findings: California State Auditor, Report 2023-102.1 (April 2024). Operation Iron Gate has not been tested in the field. No results are claimed on this page or anywhere on this site, and the North Bay Pilot numbers will be published whether they are good or bad.
Nearby cities. Read the pages for Hayward, San Jose and Oakland.
The inside track
Don’t wait for the pilot. Walk in now.
Operation Iron Gate starts in Vallejo. Its community platform, GATEHOUSE, is open today. Fremont agencies, nonprofits and neighbors can join to watch the North Bay Pilot get built, ask our team anything, and help decide what the full system becomes.
Already a member? Log in
GATEHOUSEMember pass
OPEN NOW- Follow the pilotAnnouncements and Pilot Updates as it is built, the good and the bad.
- Ask the teamOpen Q&A with our team and members who know the referral system.
- Report a dead endSent someone for help and nothing happened? Report it and follow the fix.
- Shape the buildTell us what to add, change or remove before it reaches more cities.
Direct intake · projected Jan 2027