Former Deputy Mayor of New York City Is Working With Fargo Mayor To Manage Homelessness

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Fargo City Commissioners agreed to find a new location for the Downtown Engagement Center. Mayor Tim Mahoney has been working with the governor and the State Department of Human Services to secure $5 million from the state and $2.5 million from downtown business partners. The city would also provide $2.5 million.

“We’ve come up with two properties that we think that shows some promise and we’re going to check those out. Second part of that with Bloomberg Associates what we’re doing is looking at space needs. And with Jan and Jenn’s help we’re looking at how much space do we need in that space area’s efficiency,” said Mayor Tim Mahoney, Fargo.

Mahoney had asked for the assistance of Bloomberg Associates, a non-profit organization, to assist with addressing the homeless population. Their services are provided free of charge. Bloomberg Associates has offered similar help to cities around the world.

“There are a lot of innovations that are going on in cities around the world who are all struggling with this issue. If there was somebody that had an answer and I could say ok you know here in Newark, New Jersey this is how they fixed it all and it’s all done and you could just lift it up and you know crane it over and drop it in, life would be easy. But, that’s not how this works,” said Linda Gibbs, Bloomberg Associates Principal.

Linda Gibbs served as Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services for the city of New York from 2005 to 2013. She was also the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and worked during a time where concerns had risen on the homeless population.

“Our job is to listen to hear what the community wants, to hear what the leaders want and to help them support them through a process of making that decision for themselves and building what works for their community. So you have to think about the challenges that are common but then you have to understand the local environment and structure a solution that fits,” said Gibbs.

Mayor Mahoney says he hopes to figure out the plans for the move and services within the next thirty days.