MOORHEAD – Thanks to strong community support, Churches United in Moorhead is struggling to avoid immediate closure.

After issuing a call to the congregation earlier this week, interim CEO Pastor Devlyn Brooks said they expect to surpass the $200,000-plus amount they needed to get through the month sometime on August 15.

When Churches United outlined its needs earlier this week, the immediate need was $61,000 by Wednesday, August 14, for payroll.

You got it by the first deadline, which was Tuesday, August 13th.

The second part of their immediate need, however, was an additional $140,000 by the end of August to keep things going. They expect to exceed that amount sometime on August 15th.

Within about 48 hours, over 400 individual donors from the community came together to reach the goal more than two weeks before the donation deadline, giving the organization some much-needed breathing room.

Brooks said that because of the outpouring of support, many people also came to the shelter in person and donated, which shows how much the community cares about the situation.

“Someone handed me a wad of cash, it was $16, and they just said you need it more than I do. That’s pretty strong stuff,” Brooks said.

But the fight is far from over. Brooks says the funding they hope to secure by the end of the day will give them stability for the next month.

However, they still have outstanding payments that they must find a way to make, and when salaries come back in September, they may find themselves right back where they started.

“We have a few weeks to breathe. Our team can focus on serving our guests and give our leadership team the opportunity to figure out what this new structure means and what we need to do to be viable and sustainable long-term,” Brooks said.

Brooks says all options are on the table as they look for a way forward. The fight is far from over. Now they’re looking for partners in government and other organizations to find the best way to balance operating costs and revenues going forward.

“And we need to convince the community that this was not a one-time problem. Right? We are so grateful that you stood by us in that moment, but you must not forget us in a month, six months, 12 months,” Brooks said.

Other organizations that provide shelter and resources to the homeless are closely monitoring the situation.

Rob Swiers, executive director of the New Life Center, said that the Churches United’s housing and resources are already at capacity and a possible closure of the center would have devastating consequences for the community.

“We have a lot of people who can’t be served because of capacity at various locations. If that were to happen, that number would absolutely skyrocket,” Swiers said.

Another reason why closure must be avoided at all costs, according to Swiers, is that not all of the people currently housed by Churches United will be able to find suitable accommodation elsewhere.

“We serve one segment, Churches United serves a different population, YWCA, Fraser, I mean, in all of these places, we’re all pulling in the same direction. We’re all working to end homelessness, but each of us has a different part in it, a different stake in it,” Swiers said.

Brooks said he hasn’t been able to speak with the other shelters and service providers in the Fargo-Moorhead area due to the chaos that has existed there since he took over as interim CEO, but he looks forward to having those conversations in the coming weeks.