Home Sweet Home Ministries will present a grant proposal Monday that, if approved, would cover almost half the money needed to build a proposed shelter village for the unhoused in Bloomington called The Bridge.
Home Sweet Home is seeking $1.3 million in grant funding from McLean County behavioral health coordination. The McLean County Board's Executive Committee will hear the proposal during a meeting at 4 p.m. Monday at the Government Center.
The money would come from a mental health sales tax implemented in 2016. Money collected from the sales tax goes towards priorities that align with the county's Mental Health Action Plan. One of those priorities is increasing safe, temporary shelter space with coordinated access to behavioral-health services.
McLean County Behavioral Health Coordination Director Marita Landreth said The Bridge aligns with that priority.
“The need for non-congregate services for people who struggle to be successful in those kind of traditional congregate settings for a shelter is really important,” Landreth said.
The Bridge would be built at 104 E. Oakland Ave., on properly owned by Connect Transit. There would be 50 sleeping cabins on the fully enclosed campus, with a total occupancy of 60 adults, according to materials provided to the County Board. It would have on-site laundry, toilet, and bathing facilities. It could be open by the end of 2025.
The Bridge is expected to cost $2.65 million to build, and another $700,000 or so to operate every year.
Matt Burgess with Home Sweet Home will present the proposal at Monday's meeting, and Landreth said they are looking forward to providing more feedback about it to the county board.
The Bridge would be located very close to Home Sweet Home Ministries, just south of Downtown Bloomington.
“So I think staying within that area not only helps, really it's cost savings as well. It means that they're going to be able to utilize a lot of the services that they have at their home base,” Landreth said.
Continuing funds
Home Sweet Home Ministries also needs funding to help run the shelter village once it gets built.
Landreth said it is hard to know if McLean County will continue to allocate funds to The Bridge.
BHCC is revising the Mental Health Action Plan for 2026 and hopes to have the new plan ready by this fall. Future grant funding will depend on the new priorities.
“It is likely that there will be open opportunities for people to apply for those funds, including Home Sweet Home Ministries,” Landreth said.
