Advertisement

Homeless housing could be coming to your Fresno neighborhood. Here’s the mayor’s plan

Fresno has moved into the second stage of an effort to house the homeless that officials say has been successful.

Project Off-ramp convinced 1,700 people living on the street to go into an emergency shelter since the effort kicked off at the beginning of 2021, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said in an update Tuesday at City Hall.

And 76% of those people had a “safe exit,” which is to say they went to live with family or found some kind of permanent housing, he said.

“I am 100% confident we are on the right path toward eliminating chronic homelessness in our city,” he said during the news conference.

The second phase will also widen the efforts for the homeless, adding transformed motels to other parts of the city. Services and shelters in Fresno have traditionally been found only in downtown and the west side.

While the first phase targeted people living on the embankments of Highways 41, 180 and 168 as well as canal banks, private property and other areas, the second phase will look toward encampments throughout the city.

Dyer said it will be aimed at large encampments — 10 or more people who have set-up for 10 or more days — before smaller groups.

There are about 1,650 people living on Fresno streets, officials said.

The same day of the announcement, the city opened its latest rundown motel transitioned into housing at the Villa Motel on Parkway Drive. The 52 units are expected to house about 60, officials said.

A poster touts the Villa Motel on Parkway Drive that opened Tuesday, March 21, 2023, with 52 units of affordable housing for the homeless, according to officials.
A poster touts the Villa Motel on Parkway Drive that opened Tuesday, March 21, 2023, with 52 units of affordable housing for the homeless, according to officials.

Those residents were elderly or had significant medical needs and were plucked from the city’s warming centers, officials said.

Councilmember Annalisa Perea said she visited those centers and heard from people using them.

“Many have stories of struggles and simply got caught in a system where they couldn’t get help or didn’t know where to go,” the District 1 representative said.

The Parkway Inn down the street from the Villa is on its way to the same overhaul and should be open at the end of May, according to officials.

There are two more motels the city is eyeing — one in District 4 and one in District 6 — but officials said ongoing negotiations prevented them from giving their exact location or price.

That’s 232 more units between the Parkway Inn and the two unnamed motels, officials said.

The city owns five motels on Parkway Drive and partners with the Fresno Housing Authority on four others in the area.

Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, who represents District 4, said he was skeptical of the Project Off-ramp in the beginning, but he’s been won over.

“The majority of people the city reached out to, to provide these services, gladly accepted it,” he said. “I just want to get rid of that stigma that there’s folks out there and that these folks don’t want the services provided to them.”

District 6 Councilmember Garry Bredefeld was not involved in the news conference.

The hotels are purchased with money from Project Homekey, a $600 million state initiative to flip underutilized hotels and motels into interim and permanent housing. Dyer said Fresno will apply for more in Homekey 3.0, and also use American Rescue Plan money pending approval of the City Council.

Councilmember Miguel Arias has said for several years that homeless services were too centered in District 3 and should be shared across the city.

“I’m sure we will get some resistance from some people, but this is the right thing to do,” he said. “It’s a citywide crisis and requires a citywide solution.”