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Bloomington churches to provide emergency shelter

By Kara Adams

Posted February 18, 2025

Bloomington's First Christian Church from the front.

(Emma Atkinson, WFIU/WTIU News)

The Bloomington Severe Emergency Winter Shelter is open this week, providing a place for the unhoused to stay at the First Christian Church on East Kirkwood Avenue and First United Methodist Church on East Fourth Street due to the cold and snow.

The emergency shelter was created last year by Reverend Sarah Lynne Gershon, the associate minister and site coordinator at First Christian Church. Pastor John Nyota with First United Methodist Church assisted to bring the service to the community.

“We have… a free breakfast on Sunday mornings, and during the polar vortex last year, I saw women who I knew had slept out in the cold because Wheeler had closed their mission, and people told me that they had slept outside,” said Gershon.

Wheeler Mission was previously the only homeless shelter dedicated to women in Bloomington. Its men’s shelter is still open. Gershon then proposed the idea of starting an emergency shelter that would prioritize women.

Before 9:30 p.m., half of the shelter’s 30 beds are reserved for women. After that, the rest are available for anyone.

Gershon described volunteering as working a second job, which is why the shelter is looking for more volunteers through this weekend.

“We need a large pool of volunteers so people can just kind of pop in and out,” she said. “So, the more volunteers we have, the happier we are knowing that we are not going to wear out some of the people who have been so dedicated to this ministry.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include First United Methodist Church in the story.