It’s something our community has been sorely lacking for a long time now, and Austin’s Place and C-U at Home, with the help of United Way of Champaign, will be making it a reality.
Beginning November 1, 2020, the C-U at Home facility at 70 E. Washington Street will operate a year-round overnight shelter that will be open to both men and women. From C-U at Home executive director Rob Dalhaus III:
“We have a shared goal of opening nonstop shelter for both men and women at the C-U at Home site on November 1, 2020. We want the public to understand that we have been working very hard over the past three years to get to this point. This year-round overnight shelter resource for men and women has been absent from our community for too long and now is the time to change that.”
Both C-U at Home and Austin’s Place (at First United Methodist Church in Champaign) will offer overnight shelter for the winter again this year, from November 2019-April 2020, while C-U at Home undergoes renovations in preparation for housing both men and women. There’s a priority on maintaining a separate, safe place for women, as many have experienced violence.
Photo from C-U at Home Facebook page