The opening of the homeless shelter village in Bloomington is delayed because a key part for electrical power is not yet available.
Home Sweet Home Ministries’ [HSHM] shelter village, The Bridge, will be a non-congregate shelter village with 48 sleeping cabins able to accommodate up to 56 adults.
The Bridge was originally anticipated to be open in December. But HSHM CEO Matt Burgess said it will not likely open until January because there has been a delay in shipping a switchgear that is a crucial part of electrical grids.
“We won't be able to open without power running to the cabins,” Burgess said. “And that [switchgear] is not due to arrive until the very end of December.”
If there are more delays in shipment, the timeline could be pushed back even further. But Burgess said he is hoping and praying that is not the case.
Once the switchgear arrives, Burgess said he was told it will only take a few days to get power connected and running.
When that happens, The Bridge will need to be inspected and have occupancy granted by the City of Bloomington. Burgess said he does not know how long either of those will take.
If that can happen quickly, HSHM will be able to move people into The Bridge as soon as the second week of January.
“It's already cold at night right now,” Burgess said. “And we know that it's going to get even colder come January. So we're going to move people in as fast as we can.”
Operational and capital costs
In June, the McLean County Board awarded a $1.3 million grant to Home Sweet Home Ministries from the McLean County behavioral health coordination.
The funds have gone toward capital and operational support for The Bridge.
Now with a program manager hired, a connection specialist underway and residential associates getting hired in December, Burgess said there are minimal operational costs compared with what he thought HSHM would have.
“So we're looking to move some of those operational dollars over to the capital side to still use the money responsibly,” he said.
Construction costs for The Bridge have come close to $3 million, which is above the $2.65 million budget that was originally anticipated.
However, Burgess said community support has helped keep the capital costs low.
Carpet Weavers donated the flooring for every sleeping cabin, Habitat for Humanity donated all the paint for the inside and outside of the cabins, the roofing contractor donated all of the roofing materials and State Farm donated furniture.
“Those types of donations help us keep the cost down,” Burgess said. “And we'll continue to try and find where we can have items donated to support the work that we're doing.”
While construction continues, HSHM is seeking volunteers, ages 18 and older, to paint and assemble furniture for the sleeping cabins.
