Cunningham Township, which provides housing and financial assistance to residents of Urbana, announced the opening of an emergency winter shelter at the former National Guard Armory in Champaign in a press release Sunday.
The press release advised anyone seeking shelter to go to Strides, a low-barrier homeless shelter, at 70 W. Washington St. in Champaign, to determine which local shelters someone can stay in. Low-barrier shelters like Strides do not require sobriety or a criminal background check to receive services. Cunningham Township staff members will provide transportation to the new shelter from 6-8 p.m. each night.
“We are grateful to Friend in Me, CU Public Health, STRIDES, State of Illinois, UC Friends Meeting, Angel Donors, the Cities of Urbana and Champaign and all our partners for helping us move towards our goals: no one left outside and housing is a human right,” the statement read.
The announcement comes after most of central Illinois was under a Winter Storm Warning and experienced 3-8 inches of snow over the weekend. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory today for central Illinois until Tuesday morning.
The press release also stated the shelter is $37,000 short of its $250,000 goal in providing costs for overnight shelter and providing breakfast to its 75 residents. The release encouraged anyone interested to donate to its Angel Fund to help the shelter toward its goal.
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The township is also accepting donations for microwavable food, drinks, towels, coats, hats, socks and toiletries at its office on 205 W. Green St. in Urbana.
Anyone who wants to help the township in its housing efforts is encouraged to reach out to Danielle Chynoweth, the Cunningham Township supervisor, at [email protected].
“We are grateful to everyone who has supported us and all our homeless services partners in helping respond to our country’s housing crisis,” the statement read.
