Homeless advocates push for additional state grant funding

An eight-bed women's shelter room at the Missouri Slope Areawide United Way's Center for Opportunity in Bismarck. This summer, the shelter has housed an average of between 70 and 80 people a night. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

Nonprofits serving North Dakota’s homeless will receive nearly $1.8 million in grants recently awarded by a state agency. But applicants had sought more than double that amount, leading some advocates to say more state funding is needed.

The awards come from two different grants: the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency’s North Dakota Homeless Grant and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Solutions Grant. They support services like emergency shelters, transitional housing and homelessness prevention programs.

Ten organizations received $881,870 from the federal Emergency Solutions Grant, and 16 organizations were awarded $909,115 from the North Dakota Homeless Grant, according to the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency’s website.

With homelessness on the rise in North Dakota, that amount just isn’t enough, Katie Jo Armbrust of the Grand Forks Housing Authority told lawmakers at a June 27 Government Services Committee meeting.

She urged legislators to increase funding for the North Dakota Homeless Grant to $10 million for the 2025-2027 budget cycle. The Legislature budgeted $1.3 million for the program for the 2023-2025 biennium.

“This is what works: Allowing our community organizations to address their respective communities’ needs,” Armbrust said.

Group gathering input on North Dakota housing needs

The fact that organizations applied for more than $5 million from the North Dakota Homeless Grant and Emergency Solutions Grant this year is proof the funding is needed, she said.

Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, is working on a bill draft to grant Armbrust’s request. The draft will also set aside money for a number of other housing-related programs, including the Housing Incentive Fund , Mathern said.

“This is going to be a comprehensive investment in housing,” he said. “Just addressing homelessness is too narrow of a focus.”

The Government Services Committee will review the proposal during its next meeting, which is expected to take place in September, said Mathern.

Youthworks in Bismarck, which provides emergency housing to minors and young adults, this year was awarded $77,816 from the Emergency Solutions Grant and $50,000 from the North Dakota Homeless Grant.

Youthworks will use the money to cover staffing costs and operational expenses like rent, utilities and maintenance for its transitional housing units, said assistant executive director Mark Heinert.

Many nonprofits also use the North Dakota Homeless Grant to apply to federal grants that require a local funding match, he said.

“It’s really important to get local support from the North Dakota Homeless Grant,” Heinert said. “We may get $50,000 for a grant, but maybe we’re using that money to leverage another $150,000 or $200,000.”

The Missouri Slope Areawide United Way, which operates Bismarck’s only 24/7 emergency shelter, received a $100,000 award from the North Dakota Homeless Grant.

The nonprofit will use the vast majority of the funding to pay for day-to-day expenses, Executive Director Jena Gullo said.

Expanding the state grant would not only keep organizations like the United Way open, but bring homeless services to more areas of the state, said Gullo. Not every community in North Dakota has homeless shelters, she pointed out.

“If you don’t have basic emergency shelters in every region of the state, then there’s no way to get people into housing,” Gullo said.

A total of 3,830 people received services for homelessness in 2023 compared to 2,607 in 2020, according to North Dakota’s Homeless Management Information System . Organizations that focus on homelessness and housing instability use the data system to track the people they help.

While the Homeless Management Information System is the most reliable measure of homelessness available in North Dakota, the numbers don’t paint a complete picture, said Shawnel Willer of the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency.

For one, not every service provider in the state uses the data system. Participation in the system has gone up since 2020, however, which is partly why the numbers increased so much between 2020 and 2023.

Organizations have logged 2,546 people as facing homelessness from January through June of this year.

The recipients of the Emergency Solutions Grant are:

• Institute for Community Alliances: $158,127
• YWCA Cass Clay: $70,000
• Presentation Partners in Housing: $155,580
• Youthworks: $77,816
• United Way Grand Forks: $50,000
• Community Violence Intervention Center: $50,000
• Red River Valley Community Action: $50,000
• Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency: $125,000
• Grand Forks Homes, Inc.: $89,647
• Domestic Violence Rape and Crisis Center: $55,700

The recipients of the North Dakota Homeless Grant are:

• YWCA Cass Clay: $102,300
• United Way Grand Forks: $75,000
• Gladys Ray Shelter: $60,000
• Youthworks: $50,000
• Grand Forks Homes: $88,303.60
• Institute for Community Alliances: $23,511.40
• Community Violence Intervention Center: $50,000
• Red River Valley Community Action: $50,000
• New Life Center: $75,000
• Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency: $25,000
• Missouri Slope Areawide United Way: $100,000
• AID, Inc.: $60,000
• Women’s Action and Resource Center: $25,000
• Abused Adult Resource Center: $50,000
• Native, Inc.: $50,000
• Community Action Partnership – Minot Region: $25,000

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