Eastern North Dakota Synod

Help the homeless in Fargo Moorhead have a safe and warm place to stay when there is no room left in our local shelters. Local churches are uniting to provide emergency overflow shelter beds January through March.

Why You are Needed

• A point in time survey, done recently, revealed there are at least 406 homeless individuals in Fargo-Moorhead; 79 of these individuals are children under 18 years of age.
• In July, there were 65 families living in vehicles or tents. Some of this is due to flooding and the oil boom in western North Dakota where renters are being pushed out by skyrocketing rents and scarcity of available rental properties.
• The local shelters have gone into overflow mode and are providing shelter for more than 330 homeless individuals on any given night.

In late November 2011, churches began a conversation with health officials from across the community, local agencies and homeless shelter officials about how the crisis can be managed in the coming months (January-March), which were deemed the most crucially brutal weather months in our region.

Host Churches Needed

In early December, the following plan was developed: From January 1 – March 31, interested churches in the Fargo-Moorhead area will begin to help local homeless shelters provide a warm safe place for up to 25 overflow guests. The churches will sign up to host overflow guests on a rotating weekly basis (Sunday night – Saturday night) from 9:00 pm – 7:00 am. The weekly site will NOT be publicized.

The local homeless shelters will pre-screen and select up to 25 guests per night to be transferred to the local church site. These individuals will be single men and women so families can stay together at the shelter, which will provide continuity and stability for homeless children. Individuals who have been using alcohol, or have a history of violence or serious mental health issues will not be sent to church host sites. If there is a greater need, discussion of a second host site opening will occur.

Church Responsibility

The host church will be responsible for light snacks, restrooms, smoking locations (outside of building), and decide which areas will be open to their guests. Beds and linens have been purchased and/or donated by local businesses. The host sites will need to designate a coordinator or coordinators for their site.

Food

• Morning: Granola bar and Juice box
• Evening: Bottled water and individually wrapped single-serve items (preferably with protein), such as peanut butter crackers, cheese & crackers, peanuts, and pretzels

By taking the minimalist approach, the focus can remain on meeting the need for a warm place to stay while keeping people connected to the available agencies to try to move homeless individuals into the system to get them into jobs, apartments, etc., with the goal of getting them out of homelessness.

In the event of a blizzard warning, the host site should have supplies for up to 25 people for 1-2 days.

Beds/Linens

Local companies have donated air mattress beds and linens. Flannel blankets will be provided by HERO. The host church will be required to store the air beds during the week they are the host site; the bed linens and blankets will need to be laundered daily. Ideally a commercial laundry service in a business would be able to assist or volunteers could take linens to the laundry and/or home to wash the linens.

Transportation

Community organizations are working with interested church sites to provide a bus from the shelter to the church each evening and from the church to the shelter each morning. A grant proposal is in the works to hire and train two temporary drivers to cover the costs of a driver’s salary and gas for January-March. Donations will be needed up front to cover the cost of gas and salaries until the grant is received.

Liability Issues

Each site will need to confer with their own insurance provider regarding liability issues.

Volunteers

Volunteers are needed to provide a ministry of presence during the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. for up to 25 guests, who will be shuttled from the shelter to church. Volunteers can choose from 4, 8 or 12 hour shifts; the shifts are: 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., 11:30 p.m.-4:30 a.m. and 4:00-7:30 a.m.; however, a volunteer can choose to work the entire night. Four volunteers are needed each shift (2 men/2 women) who will be awake and on duty through the night. This will give our guests the sense of security they need to rest well. The church host sites will also need volunteers from 7-9 a.m. to clean the sleeping area.

The current homeless shelters need assistance from 6:30-9:30 p.m. to get the shelter ready for the evening by putting down mattresses, etc., for overflow guests at each site. Volunteers are also needed at these sites from 9:30- 11:30 a.m. to provide oversight for individuals preparing to shower.

Other non-training required volunteer roles will also be available, such as preparing and serving snacks and logistical support. Volunteers need to attend a training session to be equipped for this practical ministry of presence and care.

Training

Volunteers will need to attend one training session provided by the Fargo-Moorhead Area Coalition for the Homeless Persons, American Red Cross Minn-Kota Chapter, and personnel from the local shelters. These sessions will help educate churches on how to run an emergency shelter and working with people in crisis. Taining sessions will be added as necessary. All training will be at 1st United Methodist Church, 906 1st Ave. S. Fargo. No pre-registration is required.

To volunteer call FirstLink at 211 or 701-235-7335 (SEEK) or sign up online

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