Frozen and Forgotten: An Unhoused Winter in Bloomington-Normal
WGLT's multimedia project ‒ including WGLT’s first-ever video documentary ‒ chronicling what it’s like to be unhoused in Bloomington-Normal during the cold winter months. Debuts in February 2025. Produced by WGLT's Melissa Ellin and Emily Bollinger.
Questions about this project? Contact news@wglt.org.
Questions about this project? Contact news@wglt.org.
Join us in person at 6 p.m. Feb. 26 for the debut screening of the 30-minute video documentary Frozen and Forgotten: An Unhoused Winter in Bloomington-Normal, followed by a panel discussion with some of the organizations and unhoused people featured in the documentary.
This event will be held at the Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., in Community Room 2.
If you need a special accommodation to fully participate, please contact WGLT at (309) 438-2255 or wglt@ilstu.edu. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
This event will be held at the Bloomington Public Library, 205 E. Olive St., in Community Room 2.
If you need a special accommodation to fully participate, please contact WGLT at (309) 438-2255 or wglt@ilstu.edu. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
Listen to the audio series starting Feb. 17 on WGLT’s newsmagazine Sound Ideas, airing at 5 p.m. each day. Listen on 89.1 FM or stream on WGLT.org or the NPR App. Companion written stories will be published each day on WGLT.org.
Recent stories about homelessness
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With budget negotiations around the corner, advocates from across Illinois have written a letter asking Gov. JB Pritzker to include an additional $100 million to the budget for homeless shelter services. That would mark more than a 30% increase over what the state currently spends on the unhoused. -
McLean County’s Mental Health and Public Safety Fund Advisory Council is recommending around $1 million from the $1.5 million 2025 budget to go toward a non-congregate project for the unhoused population. -
WGLT will debut a new multimedia project this month ‒ including WGLT’s first-ever video documentary ‒ chronicling what it’s like to be unhoused in Bloomington-Normal during the cold winter months. -
Democratic Sen. Dave Koehler started his sixth term looking to advance legislation in agriculture and environment, but says the state budget causes some uncertainty. -
The McLean County League of Women Voters hosted a forum to discuss efforts to address the housing shortage. -
On one night each year — and typically during the coldest time of year — counties nationwide send volunteers out to count the unhoused. In Central Illinois, for the first time, all 11 counties in a regional network are expected to participate. -
When it feels like 20 below zero outside people are advised to stay inside, yet advocates who help the unhoused are braving the cold in Bloomington-Normal to help the roughly 130 people they estimate have no place inside to call home. -
This marks the second year Subaru has donated coats to PATH as part of a nationwide campaign. -
Central Illinois educators and administrators are getting creative as already limited funding for rent and utility assistance dwindles and student need for housing support services soars. -
Salvation Army Safe Harbor's new director of residential services says her immediate goal is to get people out of the cold since that's the biggest challenge the unhoused face this winter. -
The McLean County Board will change to a Democratic majority next month. That hasn’t happened before. Democrats and Republicans are forecasting nuanced changes in how the railroad runs. -
David Berenbaum, the deputy assistant secretary for housing counseling at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke to around 400 attendees of the Housing Action Illinois annual conference in Bloomington about how to prepare the next generation of homeowners for the task. He shares his insights with WGLT.
