A homeless encampment in a parking lot near Home Sweet Home Ministries and Eastview Christian Church in Bloomington can remain indefinitely.
The City of Bloomington had previously planned to disperse the encampment, but reversed its decision Friday. An encampment at the same location was dispersed in May.
Before initial announcements were made to dwellers, Home Sweet Home CEO Matt Burgess said 17 people were staying there.
It is the area's largest known encampment, said Burgess, adding it's best to allow people to continue tenting there.
"If they have to move, we're going to lose touch with them," he said, noting HSHM and Eastview already have connected with the people there. "All of the momentum that we've built in serving them goes out the window."
Instead, Burgess said HSHM, Eastview and the city are working on agreements that will hopefully make the area more sanitary and bring some order. He said some ideas include registering who stays there and providing more sanitary measures, such as porta-potties. However, it's unclear as of yet who will provide funding.
Burgess said he has been working with the city, including Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus, for some time now to come up with solutions for those encamped at the parking lot. He called this a temporary solution to the "difficult reality we have right now."
"It's a fairly miserable existence, especially in the winter months," Burgess said of tenting. "It's really hard. It's hard to stay warm. It's hard to stay clean, it's hard to have reliable access to fresh water and healthy foods."
While it's too soon to share any concrete plans, Burgess said he is excited about current conversations.
WGLT has reached out to the City of Bloomington for comment.
