Homelessness Response Plan for Fremont

On Tuesday, May 21, the Fremont City Council took a significant step towards addressing homelessness in Fremont. The Council adopted the City’s first Homelessness Response Plan, which will guide the development of policies, investments, and actions over the next five years to address homelessness in Fremont. The plan identifies five strategies that are based on expert recommendations from leaders in the field and were refined through an extensive engagement process with the community. The new plan will guide the City’s approach to funding and conducting programs with a focus on helping Fremont residents on the verge of becoming homeless and housing currently unsheltered community members.

The Five Guiding Strategies in the plan include:

1. Enhancing investment in homelessness prevention
2. Creating and facilitating additional housing solutions
3. Enhancing efforts to connect unhoused people to housing and other resources
4. Further investing in activities that will reduce the environmental and health impacts of encampments on Fremont residents and businesses
5. Strengthening coordination and capacity within the city and among regional homelessness resource providers

The next steps for implementing Fremont’s Homelessness Response Plan include evaluating current and prospective activities, funding, and resources addressing homelessness in Fremont and determining how to best bring them into alignment with the newly adopted homeless response strategies. Mitigation efforts, such as enforcement and trash removal, will continue to be an important part of the City’s work to address the impacts of homelessness, but the plan includes a stronger focus on addressing the root causes of homelessness as well.

During the meeting on Tuesday evening, the Council and staff listened to many community members’ concerns about vehicular homelessness and its impact on neighborhood character. The City will continue to evaluate parking, intervention, and enforcement options. We are committed to working collaboratively with the community to find solutions.

We encourage the community to stay up to date on the City’s response to homelessness by visiting our award-winning website and signing up for the City’s Homelessness Interest List.

The City would like to thank everyone who participated in developing the Homelessness Response Plan. From community members to businesses, service providers, and those with lived experience, your feedback was instrumental in shaping the plan. We look forward to implementation and being able to make a difference.

Fremont Homelessness Response Plan

City Council Staff Report

City Council Presentation Slides

City Council Meeting Recording - Part 1 of 2 (Item Starts at 00:51:03)

City Council Meeting Recording - Part 2 of 2

Background 

On May 3, 2022, the City Council passed a resolution endorsing Alameda County’s Home Together 2026 Community Plan. This plan lays out the goals, strategies, and investments needed to dramatically reduce homelessness and reduce racial disparities in the homeless population by 2026.

On May 2, 2023, the City Council authorized the City to work with EdeColigny Consulting, LLC to develop a Fremont-specific Homelessness Response Plan that is cost-effective, incorporates a racial equity lens, considers the perspectives and needs of unhoused community members, and reflects feedback received from community engagement with residents and businesses.

Timeline

Phase 2: Community Engagement
This phase was completed in January 2024. We would like to thank all the community members who shared feedback with us, completed our surveys, participated in interviews and stakeholder meetings, attended our community workshops, and attended our informational webinars. The feedback received was reviewed and considered by City staff and our consultant team as we developed the Homelessness Response Plan.

Phase 3: Plan Development
This phase was completed in May 2024.

Phase 4: Final Plan Review
A draft of Fremont’s Homelessness Response Plan was presented to the Fremont City Council on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. City staff asked the Council to consider the draft plan for adoption.

Informational Webinar Materials

To launch the Plan Development phase, we invited community members to attend an informational webinar to learn more about the draft plan and to ask any questions they may have. The webinars were held on February 29 and March 2, 2024. The presentation slides are available below.

Informational Webinar Presentation Slides - 2/29/24 and 3/2/24