Short answer
No. Help Me is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. It does not dispatch police, fire, or medical help, and nobody on the app is on call. 911 works on both sides of the Red River, in Fargo, West Fargo, Moorhead, Dilworth, and the surrounding counties.
The facts, in one place
- 911 works on both sides of the Red River.
- 988 is the mental health crisis line. 211 is information and referral.
- Help Me cannot dispatch police, fire, or medical response.
- Do not wait on an app when you need an official response.
Where the boundary sits
A dead battery in a lit parking lot is everyday help. A stranger following you is not. Chest pain is not. A car in a ditch in a whiteout is not. The difference is not how upset you are. It is whether the right answer is a neighbor with ten minutes or a trained responder with a radio.
- 911: danger, injury, fire, crime in progress.
- 988: suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis.
- 211: food, housing, utilities, and referrals in ND and MN.
- Campus public safety: incidents on NDSU, MSUM, Concordia, or M State property.
Why an app cannot be the fallback
Nobody is on call. Saying yes is voluntary, and requests close on their own after two hours. There is no dispatcher watching a map at three in the morning. Designing honestly around that means telling you to call, not to post.
After you call
Help Me is for what comes after: a hand with a car, company while you wait, a phone charger. Call first and post second. Helpers can apply to be reviewed by our team. Help Me does not run background checks. You can report or block any member at any time.
Questions people actually ask
Yes, for the small stuff that follows: a hand with a car, company, a charger. Call first, post second.
No. Reports go to our team. If a crime happened, call 911 or the police yourself.
Call or text 988. For immediate danger, call 911.
Keep going
- Not 911Help Me is not an emergency serviceHelp Me is for small favors in Fargo-Moorhead. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Here is how to tell the difference.
- emergencyEmergencies: 911, then the right local deskCall 911 in Fargo, West Fargo, Moorhead, and Dilworth. Campus police and 211 are next. Help Me is not emergency response.
- resourcesOfficial help, listed on purposePolice, 911, 211, campus safety, food, shelter, and county services in Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo. Help Me is not these pages.
- Ground rulesThe ground rules, said plainlyHow Help Me handles your location, who can help, private chat, and meeting in public. Plus how to report or block anyone. Help Me is not an emergency service.
- 211211 in North Dakota — FirstLinkDial 211 in North Dakota for food, shelter, heat, and referrals. FirstLink answers 211 at myfirstlink.org or 701-235-7335. Not Help Me.
- crisisMental health help — official crisis lines, not a neighbor chatMental-health crisis in Fargo–Moorhead: 988, 911 if in danger, FirstLink, campus counseling. Help Me is not a crisis line or a therapist.
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.