City hears update on regional homelessness plan; commission okays one-month bridge of overnight shelter space

United Way of Cass-Clay and the Fargo-Moorhead Coalition to End Homelessness presented a progress report on a coordinated initiative to prevent and end homelessness in the Cass-Clay region and asked the commission to permit continued overnight sheltering at the Fargo Cass Public Health building through June 1, funded by grants.

The request was part of a larger effort the presenters called “United to End Homelessness,” which aims to make homelessness “rare, brief and one time” by scaling shelter, rapid rehousing, supportive housing and prevention services and by convening a regional interagency council. "We have 2 identified goals as part of that initial process: minimize the rise in unsheltered homelessness and build a foundation for a comprehensive plan to prevent and end homelessness," Taylor Sivertson, director of community impact at United Way of Cass-Clay, told the commission.

The presenters said portions of the local homeless response system are overburdened. They estimated roughly 1,050 individuals experiencing homelessness in the Fargo–Moorhead area on a given night and roughly 330 emergency shelter beds available. "Certain parts of our system are overwhelmed," Chandler Eslinger, executive director of the FM Coalition to End Homelessness, said. "We need to scale up prevention, affordable housing and supportive services so emergency shelter and outreach are not overloaded."

Why it matters: Presenters said about 55 to 65 people were being served nightly by temporary winter programming; without additional units or supports, some of those people could return to unsheltered camping or be left without shelter when winter programs close. The presenters described a 30/60/90-day set of objectives that included fundraising, standing up staffing and securing housing units for the population currently in temporary programming.

Implementation details and timeline: The coalition said it had identified about 22 currently unused housing units that could be deployed and estimated needing a total of roughly 40–50 additional units to meet the demand for the 55–65 people in temporary programming. The group said it planned an initial scale-up of staff—"tier 1" hires that include a program coordinator, a team lead and one case manager—immediately, with up to five additional case managers as fundraising allows. "We know June 1 we'll be able to have about 22 units come online and those first 3 staff in place," Sivertson said.

Public-health bridged shelter request: Jen Fall, director of public health, told the commission the health department could continue using its winter warming staffing and space to provide overnight shelter through June 1 and that grant funding was available to pay staff salaries. "The cost for that would not be absorbed by the city or the general fund," Fall said, adding that roughly 45 people were still using winter-warming services the previous night.

Commission debate and public comment: Commissioners and members of the public raised competing concerns. Some commissioners and business owners objected to continued downtown service concentration, expressed frustration at tent encampments and sought clarity about notice and enforcement of the city's camping ordinance. Other commissioners and presenters emphasized the life-saving impact of winter-warming shelter and argued a one-month bridge would be less costly than recurring enforcement and downtown impacts. In public comment, a resident urged the commission not to criminalize homelessness and said shelters are not accessible or appropriate for all people.

Formal action: The commission voted on a motion to allow continued overnight sheltering at the Public Health building for one month, covered by grant funds, as a temporary bridge while the coalition scales housing and services. Commissioner John Strand moved the motion; Commissioner Kolpak seconded. The roll-call vote recorded Kolpak — aye; Pepcorn — no; Turnberg — no; Mahoney — aye; Strand — aye. The motion carried 3–2.

Next steps: Presenters said the Cass-Clay Interagency Council on Homelessness will convene in early June and that invitations and applications for at-large members will be issued soon. United Way and the coalition said they will continue fundraising and landlord outreach and begin hiring the first cohort of staff to support rapid housing access and case management.

Quotes: "We have to ensure our system is well prepared to make sure that folks that do enter homelessness are able to exit quickly," Chandler Eslinger said. "The cost to taxpayers by this consuming in the next month our police department, our fire department ... would be much greater than extending another two to three weeks of housing in the evening," Commissioner Kolpak said in support of the bridge.

Ending: The commission advanced the short-term shelter bridge while continuing discussion of longer-term regional funding, capacity-building and enforcement policies. The presenters asked jurisdictions across the region to sustain the interagency council and pledged continued fundraising and partnership-building to scale housing and services.