Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn proposed removing benches throughout downtown and relocating the Downtown Engagement Center, which helps homeless people and those with addictions. The commissioner said the engagement center draws more homeless people downtown.
Darlene Ten Bear, who works with Fargo and West Fargo school districts, is also a social worker with Red River Human Services Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with people struggling with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Fargo, West Fargo and Wahpeton areas.
The criticism was aimed at City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn who proposed moving the Downtown Engagement Center and removing benches from downtown sidewalks because both attracted “loitering, and a lot of vagrants, and a lot of intoxicated people.”
The Gladys Ray Award was created to recognize the work of Gladys Shingobe Ray, a fierce defender of all people, especially Indigenous people, children and individuals experiencing homelessness.