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 Moreno Valley organizations
Moreno Valley referrals should be followed
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 Moreno Valley organizations can follow it in the open and ask to be briefed.
What Operation Iron Gate is
What a Moreno Valley 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 Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions and Moreno Valley 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 Moreno Valley referrals break
Shelter money spent in Riverside
In fiscal 2025-26 the city planned $159,100 of its federal Emergency Solutions Grant for Path of Life Ministries' shelters, $103,200 for emergency shelter and $55,900 for rapid rehousing, to serve 30 Moreno Valley residents. Those shelters are in the City of Riverside, so the handoff crosses a city line.
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 help line and a shelter in different places
The Salvation Army runs Moreno Valley's homeless help line, while the shelter beds the city buys are run by Path of Life in Riverside. A referral has to hold up across two organizations and two cities before anyone can say the person arrived.
Get involved
How Moreno Valley 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. Moreno Valley 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 Moreno Valley: 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 Moreno Valley: questions
Is Operation Iron Gate running in Moreno Valley?
No. It has not launched anywhere. The first pilot is being prepared in Vallejo, and no Moreno Valley launch has been announced.
What did the latest count find in Moreno Valley?
The January 2025 count for the City of Moreno Valley recorded 154 people homeless in Moreno Valley. The county's 2025 count found 55 people unsheltered and 99 sheltered in the city. Riverside County held a sheltered-only count in 2026, and no 2026 city results have been published. The county's homeless services database logged 953 people tied to Moreno Valley in fiscal 2023/24, against 154 counted on the one night.
What else is happening in Moreno Valley?
Riverside County counts unsheltered homelessness every two years, so the 2025 count is the latest full count. Linwood Rose broke ground in April 2026 with 36 units, 35 of them permanent supportive housing. In 2023 the city's Homeless to Work program with The Salvation Army reported more than 8,000 outreach interactions and 116 people completing its 90-day program. The city's homeless help line is 951-415-2971.
Can a Moreno Valley organization take part?
Cohort 01 is recruiting in Vallejo. A Moreno Valley organization can request a briefing now. The first conversation is exploratory, and nothing is signed in it.
Does this replace Riverside County's system?
No. Operation Iron Gate is not a replacement for Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions, The Salvation Army's help line, Path of Life or any provider's own records. It is built to confirm that a referral between organizations reached the person, including one that crosses from Moreno Valley into Riverside.
I need help myself. Where do I go?
Call 211 for current local referral information. For food, the Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino 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. Moreno Valley: Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions, 2025 Point-in-Time Count. City of Moreno Valley, 2025-26 Annual Action Plan. City of Moreno Valley, April 2026. City of Moreno Valley, Homeless Challenges and Options (2023). City of Moreno Valley, 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 Riverside, San Bernardino and Fontana.
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. Moreno Valley 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