The CEO of a Fargo-Moorhead area domestic violence shelter says she’s hoping for movement on a lawsuit filed against the federal government for funding changes that may leave women and children vulnerable to homelessness.
Erin Prochnow is CEO of the YWCA of Cass Clay. She says attorneys general and governors from 20 states have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s changes to its Continuing of Care grant program. She says service organizations that typically receive two year grants were only funded for one year, and this fall, many were notified that funding would not be renewed.
"We have a grant that expires on the 31st of this month. Our transitional housing grant expires. HUD pulled their NoFo last Monday, which would have been the 8th, and said they'd reissue it. We had to submit something to the state, because that was required of us. At this point, it's absolutely up in the air. We don't know what's coming next."
Prochnow says YWCA has been working behind the scenes with North Dakota’s federal delegation and other funding partners to allow no interruptions to services. She says she is optimistic that the community will step up with support, but demand is always high. And Prochnow is also concerned about recent trends she’s been seeing in those seeking help at YWCA.
"The last week of October, we had seven women who were 57 and older - including an 81 year-old-woman, who reached out for service who said they simply couldn't make it any longer. When we're talking about that age category, we're talking about advanced physical decline, dementia-like symptoms, and chronic medical conditions that require daily care and supervision. YWCA, as a non-profit entity in our community, is simply not set up to provide that level of nursing care."
Prochnow says a hearing on the matter is supposed to take place today. She’s also hopeful the funding could be restored to an omnibus spending bill coming before Congress in January.
YWCA of Cass Clay provides emergency and supportive housing to 350 women and children.