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Residents said they\u2019re frustrated with the abrupt process of moving out after only staying at the motels for a few months.<\/p>\n \u201cThey really gave us no choice on it at the end of the day, it was either a tiny home or get out,\u201d Robert, who declined to give his last name for privacy reasons, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Robert lives at the Casa Linda Motel and said being pushed into a tiny home doesn\u2019t feel like a reprieve from the streets. He said HomeFirst told residents at that motel they\u2019ll transfer to the\u00a0Rue Ferrari tiny home village<\/a>\u00a0at the end of the year, which recently added 144 beds.<\/p>\n \nContribute to Local News Matters\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n HomeFirst has managed the motels \u2014\u00a0Alura Inn<\/a>, Fontaine Inn, Motel 6,\u00a0Bristol Hotel<\/a>\u00a0and Casa Linda Motel \u2014 since the\u00a0Columbus Park sweep<\/a>\u00a0in August. People living at the motels have taken issue with rules they said are too restrictive. Robert said residents aren\u2019t allowed visitors and have restrictions on when they can visit other people in the motel. He said room inspections are \u201cinvasive\u201d and an initial 10 p.m. curfew, which has been removed, was unreasonable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made us all feel like we were in a prison,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not what we signed up for. We signed up for a place to live, and it\u2019s what I feared it would be, which was them trying to micromanage every aspect of our life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt made us all feel like we were in a prison \u2026 We signed up for a place to live, and it\u2019s what I feared it would be, which was them trying to micromanage every aspect of our life.\u201d<\/p>\n Robert, Casa Linda Motel resident<\/p>\n He fears the rules are going to be more restrictive at the tiny home village. Robert said he\u2019s reluctantly moving to remain with the community of friends he\u2019s developed.<\/p>\n HomeFirst spokesperson Fiona Brodie said its motel and temporary housing sites have no curfew, and residents are able to come and go. In terms of the no visitors policy, she said HomeFirst takes the first few months when a site opens to determine whether having visitors is feasible. She directed questions about the transfers to the city.<\/p>\n \u201cHomeFirst provides services at these housing sites, but we do not make decisions about the placement of participants at these sites or the transfer of participants to new sites,\u201d Brodie told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Housing Department spokesperson Sarah Fields said transferring motel residents to tiny homes is the next step in their housing journey.<\/p>\n \u201cThe throughput model is designed to meet individuals where they are, providing progressively increased support as they stabilize and progress through the system,\u201d Fields told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Like being \u2018caged in\u2019<\/p>\n Amanda Flores, who lives at the Motel 6, said not having visitors is hard. She doesn\u2019t like how residents can\u2019t do laundry or cook in their rooms, but is thankful to have a roof over her head and a shower.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we\u2019re being caged in, but the staff are very nice,\u201d Flores told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n HomeFirst has managed all five motels up to this point, but two other service providers \u2014\u00a0People Assisting the Homeless<\/a>\u00a0(PATH) and WeHOPE \u2014 will be taking over some locations over the next couple months. PATH took over Bristol Hotel Monday and will operate Fontaine Inn Jan. 1, while WeHOPE will take over Motel 6 operations Jan. 1. HomeFirst will continue managing the Alura Inn, but it\u2019s unclear if it will keep overseeing Casa Linda Motel.<\/p>\n A PATH spokesperson said the nonprofit hasn\u2019t finalized its operating plans yet, so it\u2019s too early to discuss how it will run the site and what rules will be in place.<\/p>\n WeHOPE representatives said they plan to meet motel residents where they are, including finding compromises to certain rules to best suit resident needs. They plan to host monthly meetings to give residents a chance to provide feedback.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest obstacle in dealing with chronically homeless people is the fact that they have trust issues,\u201d WeHOPE Chief Operating Officer Alicia Garcia told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cA lot of the things that you\u2019re doing is building trust with them and then also making sure that they feel heard.\u201d<\/p>\n The nonprofit already operates the\u00a0Berryessa safe parking site<\/a>\u00a0in San Jose, which has moved 35 people into permanent and temporary housing in eight months. It will provide services in December to the\u00a0Arena Hotel<\/a>, another temporary housing site. WeHOPE has been working with chronically homeless people in the Bay Area since 2001.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765260071_148_LNM-20250616-SJSPOTLIGHTLOGO-01.jpg\")
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FILE: The Bristol Hotel has been repurposed as transitional housing for homeless women and children. (San Jose Spotlight file photo)<\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765260072_764_IMG_2943-1024x768.jpg\")
Amanda Flores moved from Columbus Park to Motel 6 earlier this summer. Motel residents have been asked to sign a paper to accept transferring to a tiny home or face eviction. (Joyce Chu\/San Jose Spotlight)<\/p>\n