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
-
Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District and the Town of Normal have been working with Home Sweet Home Ministries on how to best handle disbursing the AutoZone encampment along Sugar Creek. -
The City of Bloomington and Town of Normal have launched a website that wants to make it easier to help the unhoused in the Twin Cities. The campaign has two goals in mind. -
Following Bloomington's backing, Home Sweet Home begins negotiations to acquire shelter village siteThe Bloomington City Council has given its official endorsement of The Bridge, a shelter village of close to 50 tiny sleeping cabins for the unhoused in Bloomington-Normal. Here's what's next. -
A plan to build a village of small cabins for unhoused individuals just south of downtown Bloomington received a green light Monday night from the city council. -
The move would jumpstart negotiations on a sale of the property to Home Sweet Home Ministries which would operate The Bridge, a shelter of 48 tiny sleeping cabins that would be located at Main Street and Oakland Avenue. -
The Town of Normal wants a homeless encampment removed by the end of the month. -
The Town of Normal extended its moratorium on short-term rental properties by one month. The move was made during Monday’s town council meeting, the first for newly sworn-in council member Rory Roberge. -
Home Sweet Home Ministries is collecting public input on its proposed shelter village, The Bridge, through two public forums. The next one is Monday night at Bloomington Public Library. -
A nonprofit that serves housing insecure youth and young people with family instability has opened a new Youth Education and Support Center on Bloomington’s west side. -
The City of Bloomington has announced two forums have been scheduled to collect public input on a proposed cabin village to serve the unhoused. The forums are scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, May 2 and 7 p.m. Monday, May 5 at the Bloomington Public Library Community Room 1. -
The City of Bloomington will spend more than $500,000 to buy additional powdered-activated carbon in an effort to eliminate ongoing odor and taste issues with the water supply. -
Bloomington city officials are exploring more treatments to eliminate the odor and improve the taste of its water.
