Fargo Cass Public Health (FCPH) is announcing that beginning today, Monday, November 9, the Engagement Center, located in the former Fargo Police Department at 222 4th Street North in Fargo, is operational. The Engagement Center houses the Emergency COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation Program, which provides emergency isolation and quarantine shelter for single unaccompanied men and women who do not have permanent housing and are unable to access other shelter facilities. The Engagement Center also houses the Mobile Outreach Program, which provides outreach, alternative transportation, and assistance to individuals experiencing crisis involving substance use.
Jan Eliassen, FCPH Harm Reduction Division Director, says, “Creation of the quarantine and isolation center is a critical part of our local COVID response because we are now able to provide a safe environment for impacted individuals who don’t have anywhere else to complete isolation or quarantine.”
The Engagement Center works in partnership with other community sheltering programs. Admittance and referrals to isolation or quarantine at this location will be coordinated amongst the region’s current providers for unsheltered individuals. The Engagement Center will be operated 24 hours a day by members of the FCPH Harm Reduction Division and is supported in part by the Red River Valley COVID-19 Task Force. Future plans for the Engagement Center include providing programs and resources such as Homeless Health Services.