Homeless

All revenue generated by the City of Bloomington’s local grocery tax that goes into effect next year will be used to pay for infrastructure improvements.

In a memo to the council, city staff says Bloomington will still lack sufficient shelter capacity this winter even with the addition of the shelter village that's under construction near Home Sweet Home Ministries. That’s expected to open in December.

Under the 2023 Electric Vehicle Charging Act, newly built houses are required to include EV-capable infrastructure. State Sen. Sally Turner, a Republican from Logan County, sponsored a bill that lifts that requirement for nonprofits who are building homes for at-risk veterans. She said the requirement drives up construction costs.

Every Friday a group of unhoused people meets in a room at the Junction in Downtown Bloomington to write. They are part of a writing group, an effort to help the unhoused enrich their lives amid a stressful existence.

God’s Mission Ministry held an event Saturday at the Salvation Army of Bloomington to raise awareness about the reality of being unhoused. Participants walked a mile alongside people in the community who currently are or have been homeless.

Bloomington-Normal street minister Bobby Jovanović wrote a field guide based on his own experiences for how to help unhoused people living outside.

After several years of planning, two public forums, getting funding approval and securing the location, Home Sweet Home Ministries broke ground on its new shelter village, The Bridge.

Thomas Metcalf School sixth-graders designed and built a tiny house that Home Sweet Home Ministries will put in its shelter village.

The number of homeless people in Illinois is rising, but the state’s spending on homeless prevention and other housing programs is headed in the other direction.

Home Sweet Home Ministries has officially launched the Build the Bridge campaign, a new fundraising effort to help construct its planned shelter village. The campaign's goal is $750,000.