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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Home Sweet Home's non-congregate shelter village, The Bridge, aims to be a more accessible path from homelessness to stable housing. Here's how it'll work. -
This year's goal of $1 million is 51% more than last year's, which ended up being surpassed by more than $20,000. Salvation Army Major Dan Leisher said the organization has experienced some losses in funding, while also seeing an increase in need. -
The Bridge was originally expected to be open this winter, but Home Sweet Home CEO Matt Burgess said it will not likely open until January. -
The Salvation Army says the seasonal expansion of its shelter program is intended to help ensure that no one in is left out in the cold. -
There's a declaration of emergency over the number of unhoused people in Bloomington right now, and efforts to provide new housing and expanded space in shelters. In this episode of WGLT's series "McHistory," you'll learn that the issue is not new — though the response today is perhaps more humane than it was in other eras. -
After funding shortfalls and federal policies that have created new challenges for the housing industry, one leader in housing says hope and unity is what will carve a path forward. -
All revenue generated by the City of Bloomington’s local grocery tax that goes into effect next year will be used to pay for infrastructure improvements. -
In a memo to the council, city staff says Bloomington will still lack sufficient shelter capacity this winter even with the addition of the shelter village that's under construction near Home Sweet Home Ministries. That’s expected to open in December. -
Under the 2023 Electric Vehicle Charging Act, newly built houses are required to include EV-capable infrastructure. State Sen. Sally Turner, a Republican from Logan County, sponsored a bill that lifts that requirement for nonprofits who are building homes for at-risk veterans. She said the requirement drives up construction costs. -
Every Friday a group of unhoused people meets in a room at the Junction in Downtown Bloomington to write. They are part of a writing group, an effort to help the unhoused enrich their lives amid a stressful existence. -
God’s Mission Ministry held an event Saturday at the Salvation Army of Bloomington to raise awareness about the reality of being unhoused. Participants walked a mile alongside people in the community who currently are or have been homeless. -
Bloomington-Normal street minister Bobby Jovanović wrote a field guide based on his own experiences for how to help unhoused people living outside.
