Scott Hennen’s interview on What’s On Your Mind? on AM 1100 The Flag with Mayor Dr. Tim Mahoney
FARGO, N.D. – Fargo Mayor Dr. Tim Mahoney looks to find housing and mental health help for the 800 to 1,000 homeless people he estimates are in the city.
The mayor says this week four truckloads of things were removed from the area along the Red River. The City Commission passed an ordinance banning camping there.
“People keep coming back. I don’t know where they’re coming from. It’s not the same ones that started. This experiment is not working, so we’re going to have the Commission find out what to do with it,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney says the city is trying to get people into apartments, but there are not enough federal vouchers.
“That’s part of what gets us into difficulties is not being able to find funding to get people into apartments. People sometimes say ‘Get them a job.’ A lot of these people have either addiction problems or mental health issues,” Mahoney explained.
Mahoney says the city is looking into moving the engagement center out of downtown and for the North Dakota Legislature to fund $10 million to $12 million for a diversion center. Instead of police officers trying to help those in crisis, they could go to the center and get help from a mental health professional.
