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Are Helpers background checked?
This is the question we least want to be vague about.
Short answer
No. Help Me does not run criminal background checks. Before anyone can accept a request, they submit identity evidence and a staff member reviews it and decides. That is an identity and accountability check, and approval must be current to work. It is a real gate, but calling it a background check would be a lie, so we do not.
The facts, in one place
- Identity evidence plus staff review — not a criminal records search.
- Approval is current-status, revocable, and required to accept requests.
- Helpers are neighbors, not licensed or bonded professionals.
- Meeting in public and report/block exist because no gate is perfect.
Why the distinction matters
People make different choices when they think a stranger has been cleared by a records search. Overstating a check would buy trust the product has not earned and cannot back. So the language stays boring and exact: staff-reviewed identity evidence, current approval, revocable.
What that gate still gives you
Accountability. The person who shows up is tied to a reviewed identity and to a record of the request. Reports attach to that identity. Blocking is permanent from your side. Anonymous drive-by help is not a thing that can happen here.
Questions people actually ask
Do helpers get a badge or certificate?
There is no professional credential involved. Approval is an internal status that lets someone accept requests, and it can end.
Should I still be careful?
Yes. Meet in public, keep the chat in the app until you meet, and use report and block. Call 911 for anything threatening.
Keep going
helpers
Helpers show up
Apply in the app, submit identity evidence, wait on a staff decision. Current approval is required before you can see or accept requests in Fargo–Moorhead.
glossary
Identity evidence
Helpers submit identity evidence from inside Help Me so staff can review who they are. That is not the same thing as a criminal background check.
glossary
Staff review
A Help Me staff member reviews helper identity evidence and decides. Not an algorithm. Not a self-serve badge. Approval must stay current.
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Is Help Me safe?
How Help Me handles safety: staff-reviewed helper approval, approximate location, private chat, public meeting places, and report and block in every request.
trust
Safety, said plainly
Approximate location, approved helpers only, private chat, public meeting places, and report/block tools. Help Me is not 911.
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How do I become an approved Helper?
Apply in the app, submit identity evidence, and wait for a staff decision. Approval must be current before you can accept requests in Fargo–Moorhead.
Help Me is a community app for adults in Fargo–Moorhead. It is not a K–12 student program, not a youth chat, and not campus police.