1 Beavers, Esther
From:Moy, Catherine
Sent:Monday, August 4, 2025 9:46 PM
To:Diana Balboa-Pantoja
Cc:Gassaway, David; Rees, Karen; Beavers, Esther; Ballard, Kelly Subject:Re: Against Proposed Vista Ridge Permanent Housing Complex Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
Dear Diana,
Thank you so very much for your personal email. I hear your ideas and appreciate them.
I’m So sorry for what your father, you, and your family have suffered. Your words touch me deeply.
Thank you for sharing with us. I will take into consideration all you have told us. I will also pray for your father.
I am cc’ing the city clerks to ensure your letter is part of the public record.
Thank you again.
Faithfully Leading Fairfield,
Catherine “Cat” Moy
Mayor, City of Fairfield
[email protected]
On Aug 4, 2025, at 9:21 PM, Diana Balboa-Pantoja
wrote:
Dear Mayor Moy, City Council Members, and Others,
As someone who was born and raised in Fairfield, I’ve witnessed firsthand the steady growth of our unhoused population. While I recognize the importance of supporting vulnerable members of our community, I do not support the current proposal to convert the SureStay Hotel into shelter housing for individuals who are actively using substances and have not committed to seeking mental health or rehabilitation support.
Some people who received this message don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
2 From a personal perspective, my father was once part of the unhoused community here in Fairfield. He struggled with drug addiction for roughly three years, when it came to an end only two months ago. My family and I did everything we could to help him, but as the saying goes, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want help.
What ultimately pushed my father to seek treatment was not the comfort this proposal would offer, but discomfort. In December 2024, he came to us asking for help. My family and I acted quickly, doing everything we could to find available community resources.
During this time, we placed him in hotels, including the same Best Western being considered in this proposal. My father continued using drugs with friends on the streets, and by the time we secured a rehabilitation facility that accepted his insurance, he would change his mind and leave. He would state he no longer wanted help, and this happened many times. For him, temporary shelter wasn’t a bridge to recovery; it was a way to stay comfortable while continuing harmful behavior.
I believe this proposal, while well-intentioned, needs significant revision. A more effective and widely supported approach would be to prioritize housing for extremely low-income individuals, survivors of domestic violence, natural disaster victims, and those who have already taken steps toward mental health or substance abuse recovery.
Alternatively, the funding allocated for this project could be redirected to strengthen existing community services and treatment centers. We have many valuable resources in Fairfield, but they’re underfunded and/or difficult to access.
If my father had been responsible for securing help on his own, I know he wouldn’t have been able to do it, even if he had wanted to. Fairfield’s resources are not effectively serving those in need. They are overly complicated to attain, even for someone like me, who has stable housing and access to technology. I struggled a lot while looking for resources for my father. If the current version of this proposal moves forward, I am afraid it will not function as intended. Without accountability, structure, and a requirement for participation in treatment or recovery programs, the facility risks becoming a temporary comfort zone rather than a pathway to lasting change.
For my family, not having access to a program like this is what saved my father’s life. I truly believe that if he had been offered permanent housing without the expectation of change, he would never have reached the point where he was ready to begin recovery.
Today, he is still in treatment, and when he completes it, he’ll have a safe place to return to. Sadly, that’s not the case for many others who successfully complete rehab and then find themselves back on the streets due to a lack of transitional housing.
I urge you to reconsider the direction of this proposal. Please think of the people who want help but must fight through a system that makes it so hard to access it. Let’s put our resources where they’ll have the greatest impact, where they can truly save lives.
Thank you for taking the time to read my message.
Best regards,
Diana B.