North Dakota – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary paid a visit this week to North Dakota.
Scott Turner was in the state for the first time, touring the Monterey and Brighton Place Apartments in the Fargo-Moorhead area before holding a roundtable discussion.
“It has been fantastic,” Turner said on The Flag on Friday. “The people are so hospitable.”
Listen: HUD Secretary Scott Turner on The Flag
The roundtable panel included the governor, the mayors of Fargo and West Fargo, along with North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, who all spoke to a group of residents.
Turner says he was “very encouraged to see the results.”
“We came to be great listeners to see what’s being done on the ground, to see the strategies that are taking place between the public and private sectors of our government and of our citizenry,” said Turner.
Turner is also pleased to provide more support to faith-based nonprofits who are trying to solve the housing and homeless issue.
“Historically, it’s been hard for our faith-based institutions and entitles to work with the federal government,” said Turner.
“We have been very focused and mission-minded at HUD to form those partnerships because these institutions are actually doing the work on the ground.”
Turner also believes that certain issues have to be tackled with a broader approach.
“When you look at homelessness, you have to look at it from a holistic standpoint,” said Turner. “Forming those partnerships will help us to attack and alleviate homeless in our country one person at a time.”
