BLOOMINGTON — More than 300 people are homeless on the streets of Bloomington and Monroe County. They will soon have a new place to lay their heads and turn their lives around.
The Beacon Center broke ground Tuesday afternoon on Bloomington's west side. The building will replace an abandoned industrial complex with permanent and temporary housing, healthcare services and employment resources.
The new center on West 3rd Street will replace Beacon, Incorporated's aging Shalom Center on Walnut Street.
"We talked about it like a landing strip, the lights in the night that guide you home," said Rev. Forrest Gilmore, the executive director of Beacon, Inc. "That's what the center will be."
The new Beacon Center got off the ground thanks in part to nearly $5 million in donations raised by more than 300 donors.
Former Beacon client Christi Mathis picked up a shovel during the groundbreaking ceremony. She believes she would still be homeless if not for the agency's services.
"If it wasn't for them, I'd be nowhere," said Mathis, who is now housed and sober after dealing with methamphetamine addiction for 20 years. "I was scared, I was nervous. I didn't think I could find a place to take me and my dog, but when I found them, it became home quick."
Monroe County Commissioners President Julie Thomas is confident the new center and its resources will lead to more stories of success out of homelessness and poverty.
"Compassion and care locally do more to help those experiencing homelessness than heavy-handed federal policing," Thomas said.
Mathis hopes more people in need follow her lead to Beacon before and after the new center opens.
"I've got a car, I've got my own home, I'm back in college online now," Mathis said. "It goes to prove that the system works, and I love to be that example."
The new Beacon Center is estimated to open in the summer or fall of 2027.
