Local group seeks new location for homeless shelter

At the end of summer 2012, IU graduate Samantha Harrell discovered the summer emergency shelter Genesis House would not reopen in Bloomington next year.

Time passed, and it was rumored the shelter wouldn’t really close. 

By February 2013, about two months before Genesis would begin taking in patrons, no one had done anything.

That’s when Harrell, who graduated from the IU School of Social Work in May, and seven other social workers decided to open Ubuntu Shelter, a temporary Bloomington emergency shelter that would run through this year only until Nov. 1.

The Ubuntu Working Group organized a public meeting June 26 at the Monroe County Public Library Auditorium where Ubuntu members described their proposal for a new shelter.

“We were kind of seeking out new faces because we really wanted to reach out to the community and we really wanted new connections,” Hailey Butchart said. “Because we have contacted so many people at this point, we’re looking for new connections and new leads.”

Despite tornado warnings, about 20 people attended the meeting, Butchart said.

So far, the Ubuntu group has consulted about 20 individuals and groups to prepare its proposal, including city council members and the Board of Directors at the Interfaith Winter Shelter, the only other emergency shelter in Bloomington.

It runs from mid-October to mid-April.

“Ubuntu” represents a humanistic philosophy concerning people’s relations with each other.

The Ubuntu Shelter would have the same low-barrier model as Genesis House and Interfaith.

According to the group’s proposal, as long as guests exhibit respectful behavior — regardless of whether they’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol — guests are permitted to stay from as early as 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. of the next morning.

Both guests and volunteers would have to agree to follow a set of guidelines requiring guests to check in any bags, drugs, alcohol, medications or weapons upon entry.

“It’s all about human safety,” Butchart said. “So we’re trying to get people off the streets, regardless of their current state and the set of challenges they’re
facing.”

Butchart, who also graduated from the IU School of Social Work in May, said the two main reasons Genesis House closed were volunteer burnout and lack of funding.
 
Genesis House, a program ran by Genesis Church in Bloomington, began three years ago.

For two of those years, the shelter was funded in part by the Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee.

Harrell, who’s been volunteering with Interfaith Winter Shelter for the past four years, said Genesis Church volunteers largely ran the shelter seven days a week, and had a considerably large budget that went toward overnight staff pay, gas money and other amenities.

“It was inherently challenging just like our (Ubuntu Shelter) proposal will be,” she said. “Volunteer burnout is huge for them. They relied heavily on their congregation and little on outside help.”

Harrell said their current challenge is finding a location for the shelter.

The ideal location would be close to a bus route or somewhere downtown, but Butchart said at this point they would take anything within city limits.

Other than working with people from Genesis House, Ubuntu also has more than 200 volunteers working to educate the community about the need for an emergency shelter.

Thomas Pearson, a recent IU graduate and an Ubuntu volunteer, said seeing the group’s dedication has been motivating for him.

“They’re passionate about what they do,” he said. “It’s easy to kind of want to give up because there are so many other things you can be doing, but it’s important to think about the needs of others and not give up.”