We Are United to End Homelessness: United Way of Cass-Clay and FM Coalition to End Homelessness leaders discuss plans to address the local crisis
On Friday, January 3, United Way of Cass-Clay hosted a media event and Q & A regarding an update on the local homelessness crisis. Taylor Syvertson, United Way Director of Community Impact, and Chandler Esslinger, Executive Director of the FM Coalition to End Homelessness.
The event was held as a follow-up to the Fargo City Commission meeting held on December 23 where United Way and the FM Coalition to End Homelessness presented to the commission on plans to address the local homelessness crisis.
Locally, homelessness continues to increase and, in many ways, has reached a breaking point.
- Over 1,050 people experience homelessness on any given night in our community.
- Of those, 100 are unsheltered, including staying outside, loitering, or sleeping in their vehicles.
- The rise in homelessness isn’t unique to our community, nationally there’s been a 18% increase in the last year.
- At any given time in our community, our metro schools estimate 600 students are experiencing homelessness.
“With the increased attention toward and conversation around this issue combined with aligned priority and attention from our nonprofits, city leaders, business community, and faith communities, and citizens who call our region home, our community is in a unique position to tackle this issue. The time to design and launch a plan is now – while the issue is still solvable,” said Taylor Syvertson, Director or Community Impact at United Way of Cass-Clay.
The Homelessness Situation
- Since pandemic-era supports have gone away, homelessness has been on the rise.
- Homelessness in our area is reaching crisis levels, and in a region with a deadly winter climate, intervention is urgent.
- Our community has had success in reducing homelessness when resources are adequately funded and supported.
- Evidence-based, long-term solutions to homelessness require enhancements in homelessness prevention and the creation of additional pathways to permanent housing.
System Overwhelm
The need for services & housing currently outweighs our ability to serve people & the availability/accessibility of housing units.
A bathtub analogy can help explain. When too many people enter the homelessness system (the running faucet) and not enough people exit the homelessness system (the drain), the homelessness response system (the bathtub) is overwhelmed, and overflows.
Symptoms of System Overwhelm
- Shelters have been at or over capacity for several years
- Service providers turn more people away because there aren’t enough resources
- The overall rate of homelessness has increased
- Public perception of safety decreases
- Utilization of emergency services increases
- Mental and physical wellbeing declines
Homelessness Trends
30-60-90-Day Objectives
United Way of Cass-Clay and the FM Coalition to End Homeless are united in our work to end homelessness. Taylor Syvertson from United Way and Chandler Esslinger from the FM Coalition to End Homelessness presented at 30-60-90 day plan and objectives for this collaborative work.
View the full slide deck for more information.
For more information:
Contact United Way of Cass-Clay at unitedway@unitedwaycassclay.org or 701-237-5050, or contact the FM Coalition to End Homelessness at https://www.fmhomeless.org/contact or 701-936-7171.
For media partners:
To request interviews or additional information, please contact Kristina Hein Landin kheinlandin@unitedwaycassclay.org or 701-388-4660.