Bloomington's shelter for unhoused women is closing again. Where will they go?

Come Sept. 1, the 20 residents of Wheeler Mission's emergency women's shelter won't be living there any more because the shelter on Opportunity Lane is closing.

"Following much prayer, thought, and months of discussions, Wheeler Mission-Bloomington made the decision to end women’s sheltering services," the organization announced in a news release.

The statement said the nonprofit, which serves thousands of people living in poverty without a home across the state, is stepping back to re-assess its direction and where to best focus its resources in the future.

The organization called the decision to close Bloomington's shelter, which can house up to 40, "difficult."

Weathering the ongoing opioid epidemic and also the COVID pandemic has taken a toll on Wheeler Mission's resources and work: the nonprofit has served thousands of men and women over the past seven trying years.

"Throughout this time, our programs have excelled in providing shelter and daily necessities in addition to assisting our guests to address barriers to healthcare, employment, sustainable income, housing, and more," the news release said.

But the increasing needs of a growing unhoused population has tapped Wheeler of its resources and left the leadership pondering the way forward.

“The urgent nature of the past years and the growing needs of our unhoused neighbors have come at great expense in staffing, facilities, and operational costs,” said Dana Jones, Wheeler's director of community engagement.

“As we pause to contemplate the future, it has become apparent that these heightened levels of operations are not currently sustainable."

For now, the women at the shelter face a future that's uncertain. "Our case management team will be compassionately working with each guest to safely relocate them to fellow local/regional service providers," the news release said.

"Although this has been a difficult decision, our Wheeler Mission-Bloomington team is looking to the future with expectations of great things."

Not the first closure

This isn't the first time Bloomington's only homeless women's shelter has closed down. In July 2020, residents were displaced when the doors shut after financial support dependent on donations ran dry.

Some of the people went to Wheeler's Indianapolis location for women, while others stayed in Bloomington. But the shelter soon reopened, thanks to the extra COVID-19 dollars that city officials pledged to keep it operational through the pandemic.

Those emergency funds from the government have run dry, leaving no operating cash for the women's shelter.

Jones, a minister, is distressed about the loss of housing for women, but remains hopeful. "We are excited as to what the future may hold," he said Tuesday afternoon as word of the closing spread.

Wheeler sheltered 115 women in 2020, a year it was partially closed before city funding re-opened the facility. The house provided shelter to 126 women in 2021, 190 in 2022 and 161 so far this year.

Jones said the building, which has laundry facilities, a kitchen and a deck out back, will be unused "as we determine the direction of our multi-year strategic plan."

Women who are homeless can find overnight shelter at Friend's Place, Jones said, or at Middle Way House if they are victims of domestic violence. Wheeler will transport women to their Center for Women and Children in Indianapolis if they want to stay there.

Twelve of the 40 beds at Friend’s Place are reserved for women and transgender women. The Rev. Forrest Gilmore of Beacon, which oversees services for Bloomington's unhoused population, said four more beds for women will be added when Wheeler's shelter closes.

"If the demand is significant, we’ll consider a larger expansion," he said of Friend's Place.

Other options will be weighed, Gilmore said. He suggested donations in support of women needing shelter be made at beaconinc.org.

Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Wheeler Mission to close Bloomington women's shelter Sept. 1