Homeless people in FM Metro face hot weather, lack of resources

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – As the weather heats up, there has been growing concerns about the safety of Fargo’s homeless community.

Fargo Cass Public Health says that while homelessness has increased in Fargo-Moorhead, it is not outside of trends across the nation and those that are faced with homelessness face increased risks, especially as the weather heats up.

“There are not enough shelter beds in our community for the number of people who are seeking shelter.”

Their harm reduction program works to try to connect with homeless residents in the area, to keep them informed of the resources that they offer.

“When we do come across someone new that we will try to connect them to the right resources that they need in that time. So making sure that they’re okay.”

They say that they keep up with where homeless residents reside in order to make sure that they have access to things like food and water.

“Food, water, sunscreen, bug spray and things like that. Just the basic needs that you and I may not think of on a day to day basis. But just in that moment of time, that’s something that they need in that. And so us providing that small simple something that can go a million miles away from what they’re looking for.”

Homelessness is also a problem that many students in our area face.

Matthew’s Voice Project, a local non-profit that aids homeless students, say that their most recent numbers show just shy of 1,000 students faced homelessness in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo schools, and that the numbers could be even higher than that.

“Nationally, it’s projected that if you’ve identified one , there are probably two and that And that number is growing to probably three or four. So it’s likely that the need is significantly higher than those students who have currently been identified.”

She added that helping these students reach graduation is the most important step in preventing them from facing homelessness as adults.

“Really the more we can wrap around these students and help them to reach that goal the stronger our community will be 3, 4, 5 years from now.”

Fargo Cass Public Health is encouraging anyone to report homeless camps on the Fargo One app so that they can connect with the residents and offer them assistance.

You can find more information on Mathew’s Voice Project here.