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The City of Fremont Council is proposing a Homekey-funded homeless center at Motel 6, 46101 Research Ave, Fremont. We support the idea of helping the less fortunate, but oppose the location.   

Please sign to join us in saying “No to Homekey-funded Homeless Center at Warm Springs Motel 6”.

While we respect all opinions regarding this matter, we would like to express our concerns as residents nearby. 

First, the proposed site is 0.8 mile (15 minutes walk) from James Leitch Elementary School serving 708 students [1], and 1.3 mile to Warm Springs elementary serving 715 students [1]. It is 1 block away from Eaves Fremont residential community and 2 blocks away from a very large residential community of thousands of units (one of the largest in Fremont). The city failed to include this in its site evaluation. Below is the list of nearby schools, daycare centers, and after school programs serving over 2,000 children.

• Fred E. Weibel Elementary School (1.6 miles, 529 students [1])
• Lila Bringhurst Elementary (1.8 miles)
• Genius Kids Warmsprings (0.6 mile)
• Code Ninjas (0.5 mile)
• Laughter Educare Bilingual Montessori Preschool (0.8 mile)
• Jayanthi Daycare & After school Care (0.9 mile)
• Sunshine Kids After School (1.6 miles)
• Laugh N Learn Daycare and Afterschool Care (1.5 miles)
• Olive Children Preschool / Afterschool (1.2 mile)

The current proposed site is also within 15 minutes walking distance to Warm Springs community center, Warm Springs Church, and ​​South Bay Community Church. These are the places where children from the entire warm springs neighborhood spend their afternoons, weekends, holidays, and school breaks. The safety of kids should be the priority of any City action.

All the four sites the city proposed are next to the highway or major intersections. One is by the exit of 680; three are next to highway 880. All of them have noise issues, which we don't think is good for the guests with mental issues. It will also bring potential traffic problems. 

Fremont already has the Sunrise village shelter and Navigation center in operation. Before we build a new homeless facility, we should have a clear tracking of the current facility and publish data like how many homeless people check in weekly, how many still choose to live in the street, and the percentage of occupancy. We often hear homeless people would rather live in the street instead of the facility. Can we really solve the problem by building more centers ? We deserve an answer before committing to build more homeless centers. 

Regarding the cost, we want to use the example of San Francisco.  In 2021, S.F. had an unprecedented $1.1 billion to spend on homelessness. That is over $130,000 per homeless person! S.F did have budget deficit issues. We doubt if Fremont has enough financial support to keep the site working going forward. It will inevitably bring more tax burden to Fremont residents. So before you take action, you should ask all the Fremont residents.

4th, Let's use San Francisco's homeless project history to see our future. Over the years,  S.F. has attracted more and more homeless people from all over the country. Crime rate goes high, the city is becoming more and more unsafe and dirty. Since there’s no solution to the homeless problem in San Francisco. We don’t believe we are able to solve the homeless problem in Fremont by just building more homeless centers. The city is sending wrong messages to the homeless community- by making false promises. This will only attract more and more homeless folks to Fremont. Please don't make the same mistake as San Francisco. 

Building a Homekey-funded homeless center in Warm Springs will simply bringing homeless from one area to another, AND NOT ADDRESSING THE UNDERLYING ISSUES LEADING TO OUR HOMELESS PROBLEM of mental health, income inequality and other concerns we should be focusing on. 

BY SIGNING THIS PETITION, YOU ARE HELPING THE HOMELESS AND YOUR COMMUNITY. WE NEED OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO USE OUR TAX DOLLARS TOWARDS FINDING A LONG TERM SOLUTION THAT WORKS! 

PLEASE SHARE AND GET INVOLVED. THEY NEED TO KNOW WE WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO DESTROY OUR CITY ANY LONGER. 

Please also email or call Fremont city councils if you really care about you community and helping the homeless:

• LILY MEI, MAYOR: 510-284-4011 | lmei@fremont.gov
• RAJ SALWAN - VICE MAYOR, DISTRICT 5:  510-284-4082 | rsalwan@fremont.gov
• TERESA KENG-DISTRICT 1: 510-284-4012 | tkeng@fremont.gov
• RICK JONES-DISTRICT 2: 510-284-4083 | councilmemberjones@fremont.gov
• JENNY KASSAN-DISTRICT 3: 510-284-4018 | jkassan@fremont.gov
• YANG SHAO-DISTRICT 4: 510-284-4019 | yshao@fremont.gov
• TERESA COX- DISTRICT 6: 510-284-4007 | tcox@fremont.gov
• cof@fremont.gov

Use this template when you make the call:

Hello, my name is ___. A resident in the Warm Springs area. I am calling you to urge you to halt the Homekey Round 2 funding application to convert the Motel 6 into a permanent affordable housing project. A petition had been signed by over 1,300 residents to stop this project. We demand a community meeting with the council and mayor to address our concerns. The City should not make such decisions unilaterally without addressing the community's concerns.

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[1] https://www.fremont.k12.ca.us/covidcases