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 Ontario organizations
Ontario referrals should be seen
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 Ontario organizations can follow it in the open and ask to be briefed.
What Operation Iron Gate is
What a Ontario 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 the San Bernardino City and County Continuum of Care and Ontario 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 Ontario referrals break
Four in ten were new
Of 101 unsheltered adults surveyed in Ontario, 40 had become homeless for the first time in the past year, and 73 slept outdoors. People who are new to homelessness do not yet know which door comes after the first one.
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 shelter reached only through city staff
Ontario's Wellness Center, a converted hotel run by Symba, takes referrals only through the city's officers and case managers. A partner agency hands a person to city staff, not to the building, so every placement there is at least two handoffs.
Get involved
How Ontario 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. Ontario 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 Ontario: 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 Ontario: questions
Is Operation Iron Gate running in Ontario?
No. It has not launched anywhere. The first pilot is being prepared in Vallejo, and no Ontario launch has been announced.
What did the latest count find in Ontario?
The January 2026 count for the City of Ontario recorded 298 people homeless in Ontario. Up from 297 in 2025. Unsheltered homelessness fell from 258 to 245, while sheltered homelessness rose from 39 to 53. Emergency shelter held 37 people and transitional housing 16, while 245 people were outside.
What else is happening in Ontario?
Ontario had 2 of the county's 8 unsheltered families on count night. Phase I of the Wellness Center, paid for by Measure Q, has 8 emergency beds and 26 transitional rooms, and Phase II plans 50 more emergency beds. The city's homeless outreach line is (909) 395-2890. 72 people surveyed across the county named Ontario as the city where they first became homeless.
Can a Ontario organization take part?
Cohort 01 is recruiting in Vallejo. A Ontario organization can request a briefing now. The first conversation is exploratory, and nothing is signed in it.
Does this replace the county's system or the city's outreach team?
No. Operation Iron Gate is not a replacement for the San Bernardino City and County Continuum of Care, Ontario's outreach officers and case managers 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 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. Ontario: San Bernardino County, 2026 Homeless Count and Survey Report. HMC Architects, December 2025. City of Ontario, 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 Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and Corona.
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. Ontario 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