The Salvation Army of Bloomington has launched a pilot program to ensure its emergency winter shelter clients connect with community services before leaving the seasonal program.
Organizers say it was a real success, and the need for such services means they may host similar fairs again in the fall.
The Salvation Army’s emergency winter shelter — formerly known as the Midnight Cafe — expands available beds from mid-October through April 1 at Safe Harbor, 611 W. Washington St., Bloomington.
This past season, nearly 175 adults found a roof during part or all the winter season at Safe Harbor, according to the shelter.
Clients can work with case managers throughout their stay, but the new resource fair provided an extra safety net, said Safe Harbor Director of Residential Services Kiowna Towns.
“I look at it as, ‘Hey, we've offered these services throughout the year, but we want to extend these services just to make sure that your needs — your current needs —- are being met,’ and that we're not missing anyone,” Towns said.
Safe Harbor hosted the two-day event at its site. Community partners who set up booths included Home Sweet Home Ministries, God’s Mission Ministry, Chestnut Health System, Path Crisis Center, and the Gateway Recovery Program.
One event was held during business hours, and the other in the evening, to ensure people who wanted to attend could.
Towns called the March resource fair a success, with about 50 clients attending. Initially, Safe Harbor considered having this become an annual event, but now organizers think having these more frequently could meet a need.
The resource fair, Towns said, was a way for clients to make sure they were getting their affairs in order before seeking shelter — again.
Each session began with an assessment, Towns said. The street outreach coalition would start off with the basic needs questions, she said, such as, “Do you have an ID? Do you have a birth certificate?”
When someone's unhoused, frequently there’s lots of transition and things get lost. But even accessing services, like applying for subsidized housing requires proper documentation, she said.
Other times, clients have started programs, such as working on an associate’s degree, so the resource staff helped them with career and school steps, too.
“And so when people are deciding or trying to figure out where they're going, or what their next steps will be, we definitely connect with some of those outreach groups that can help people to tailor what those needs look like," Towns said.
More affordable housing needed
Towns has been Safe Harbor director for about six months, and with The Salvation Army nearly six years. She’s never seen the crisis as dire as now, she said.
“We've definitely seen a rise in our unhoused population over the years. I've worked in homeless services for over 13 years, and so, I've never seen as many people unhoused in prior years than we have now,” she said, adding several factors affect what leads to people being unhoused.
Cost of living is key though. “I do believe that it's based upon our current economy. I've said that before. I think that I also observe that people are making higher wages, but everything else is going up,” she said.
Ways to help
Towns said Safe Harbor couldn’t provide its services without the community's help.
“We're keeping the doors open, so we are always in need of financial donations that can help us even to exist, because this community is a big part of what we do. And we couldn't do it without the community,” she said.
There are other ways people can help, too.
“We're always in need of things like hygiene items and food,” she said. Besides its residential services and the seasonal winter shelter, Safe Harbor also helps with day services and meals for the public, as well as a safety net financial aid program.
For its day center, Safe Harbor provides snacks and coffee to clients. Showers and laundry facilities also are provided free of charge there. So, the center could always use donations like shampoo, soap and laundry detergent, she said.
Towns said as spring days replace the winter, Safe Harbor and its community partners are continuing to help the people they can at shelters. But they're also are planning more events, such as the March and possibly October resource fairs.
Addressing the needs of the unhoused population in Bloomington-Normal is an issue requiring a group effort, she said.
"'What can we do?' Because homelessness, being unhoused is not a Salvation Army issue, it is a community issue," said Towns, adding, "If the Salvation Army doesn't have all the tools — neither does our community partners that we work with have every tool. And if we bring those tools together, we can identify more needs, meet more needs, and help more people."
