CHAMPAIGN — A new emergency winter homeless shelter is set to open today at the former National Guard armory in Champaign. Cunningham Township approved a lease agreement last week with Prometheus Partners to operate the shelter.
As of Nov. 1, there are 82 unsheltered adults and children in the area, and homelessness is on the rise in Champaign-Urbana, said Cunningham Township supervisor Danielle Chynoweth.
This follows nationwide trends: The U.S. annual homeless assessment report says family homelessness rose 18% between 2023 and 2024.
Chynoweth says with the rise of homelessness, exposure to freezing temperatures has become a public health emergency.
“We lost two residents, two participants we were working with, froze to death in parks last winter,” she said.
The new emergency shelter will operate through April and will complement existing homeless services in the area, including an expansion shelter for families by the Regional Planning Commission and Strides, a low-barrier shelter that does not have sobriety requirements or mental health prerequisites that other shelters may have.
“We are opening up an expansion shelter for men and male-identified residents, so that also frees up space at Strides for more women to come inside,” Chynoweth said.
She said Strides has struggled with capacity as the need for shelter has grown.
It’s why Cunningham Township took steps to secure one-time funds — from the Illinois Department of Human Services and the UC Friends Meeting — to create a congregate shelter at the armory location via a private lease.
“So our goal is to get everyone inside for winter,” Chynoweth said.
The new homeless shelter takes a behavior-based approach. Instead of imposing entry requirements, the shelter will have “a well-established safety protocol,” she said.
“We do not exclude people simply because they may have been using substances that day,” she said. “We do prohibit any use of alcohol or drugs on or around the property, and we do not allow weapons on site.”
She said the Township took a similar approach with a shelter it ran last winter and had “almost no incidents.”
However, the shelter will not allow people who are listed on the sex offender registry.
“Our focus is basically doing harm reduction to help make sure people are inside and are safe, and then we link them to a series of services,” Chynoweth said.
“We have a number of case managers during the day that they can link to, and we can help them access employment, housing, and other services. And we hope to, over time, reduce the number who are staying in our shelter. That’s what happened last year, and that’s what we intend to do this year.
At the Cunningham Township Board meeting on Nov. 17, Jaya Kolisetty, a member of the Urbana City Council, asked, “Where are we with plans for folks who don’t identify as men, and also for those who are registered sex offenders? We don’t want anybody left on the street overnight.”
Chynoweth responded that they are in conversation with two organizations that would be well-positioned to provide case management and housing services. However, at the time of the shelter’s opening, Strides will serve as the alternative location for people of all genders.
Cunningham Township will pay $4,000 a month for rent and another $1,000 for utilities.
Even with the funding secured for the shelter, Chynoweth said they’re facing financial struggles.
“We are currently $65,000 short to be able to fund the shelter through April, but we hope to be able to fundraise for that gap,” she said. “We’re also looking to fill that gap through our angel donor fund that can be found at ctso.org.”
Due to delivery delays, Cunningham Township is asking people to donate clean or used hand and bath towels; they can do so by dropping them off at the Cunningham Township office in Urbana.