BISMARCK — The people in charge of ensuring North Dakotans have access to housing are seeing a rise in the need for safe and affordable places to live.

Over the last three years, the Department of Health and Human Services saw more than 13,000 North Dakotan households apply for emergency assistance — of which one-third were families with children, according to Jessica Thomasson, the executive director for the Human Services Division of the department.

During the 2023-24 school year, schools saw a 57% increase in the number of students who are coming from unstable housing situations, at 2,800, compared to the 2020-21 year, with just less than 1,800 kids experiencing some form of homelessness. It also found one in three young adults experiencing homelessness are coming directly out of fost

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