Ecumen Evergreens at Fifth Street and Third Avenue South will become Youthworks of North Dakota’s first permanent shelter in Minnesota, accommodating 30 18- to 24-year-olds experiencing homelessness. (Photo/Nancy Hanson.)

Moorhead City Council

Nancy Edmonds Hanson 

A former assisted living and memory care facility near downtown Moorhead will soon be sheltering homeless individuals roughly the age of its former senior residents’ grandchildren.

The Moorhead City Council approved a conditional use permit Monday that clears the way for Youthworks of North Dakota to repurpose the site of Ecumen Evergreens as a transitional shelter for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. The 45-year-old nonprofit provides services to homeless and at-risk youth. The city’s planning commission previously approved the request.

Youthworks has purchased the former Ecumen Evergreens structure at 502-512 Third Ave. S. Ecumen closed its senior living and memory care sites here and in Fargo last November due to staffing shortages and financial pressure.

According to Youthworks executive director Mark Heinert, as many as 30 will live in the residential facility for up to 18 months. It will be staffed around the clock. Case managers will work with residents on life skills and provide other services, he said, “while they make that next step to full independence.” He noted that no major physical changes are planned for the buildings.

Youthworks has been in the Fargo-Moorhead area since 1991. It operates similar facilities in Bismarck, Fargo, Minot and Grand Forks. While this will be its first property in Minnesota, the nonprofit currently leases and manages quarters for eight people in private apartments.

The inspiration for the shelter, Heinert noted, came from the youth action board of the West Central Minnesota Continuum of Care. The board – made up of young people who are or have been homeless – approached Youthworks to move forward with the project.