Our Work.

Beacon’s Day Center is our main location, out of which our Hunger Relief, Family Housing, and Street Outreach programs all work.

The Day Center strives to be all-inclusive, creating as few barriers as possible between the guests and our services.

Open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm, our Day Center provides life essentials to help people stabilize in times of need, including:

• Day Shelter
• Restrooms, Showers, Laundry
• Long-term storage
• Telephones, Mailing Address
• Copying, Faxing
• Bus tickets
• Prescription Assistance
• Health Insurance Assistance
• Rent, Utility Assistance
• Birth Certificates, ID Assistance
• Clothing, Shoes
• Sleeping Bags, Backpacks
• Toiletries, Feminine Hygiene Products
• Diapers, Wipes, and More…

Our Day Center also offers drop-in casework for those struggling with crises and in need of assistance, available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Appointments fill up quickly, so we recommend arriving at 8 a.m. to sign up.

Our Day Center’s crisis casework program provides information, referral, and support navigating government and nonprofit services. Financial assistance for birth certificates, IDs, rent, utilities, prescriptions, health insurance, and transportation is also available.

Located in our Day Center, Beacon’s Hunger Relief program provides breakfast from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. and lunch from 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. On holidays, the kitchen is open from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. and serves two meals. We also provide emergency groceries once per month per household.

Beacon’s Emergency Shelter serves people experiencing homelessness. Our Emergency Shelter is the only year-round, nonreligious, emergency shelter for adults (age 18+) in our region. We provide 40 safe and sober beds, with most of these beds reserved for women.

Currently located at 919 S. Rogers St. in Bloomington, the Emergency Shelter opens daily at 5:15 p.m. To access an available bed, guests should arrive at the shelter at that time.

Guests must not be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, and Monroe County residents are given priority.

In our efforts to reach people with the greatest vulnerabilities, our Street Outreach caseworkers walk the streets of Bloomington to engage and provide support for people experiencing street homelessness. Beacon’s Street Outreach program helps people access housing, health care, recovery work, and employment opportunities.

Beacon’s Family Housing helps working families experiencing homelessness move into homes as quickly as possible.  

Providing a combination of short-term financial assistance for items
such as security deposits, rent, utilities, moving expenses, application fees, etc. alongside supportive case management, our Family Housing program works to move people out of the shelters and off the streets
into new homes where they are more likely to succeed and thrive. The program helps nearly 200 adults and children move into housing every year.

For eligibility, prospective clients must be experiencing homelessness
with a dependent child in their care and be assessed for the program at the Shalom Center between 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Beacon’s Permanent Supportive Housing program provides housing and supportive services for individuals, couples, and families experiencing long-term homelessness due to disabilities. 

Providing 100 permanent homes to nearly 130 adults and children, Beacon’s Supportive Housing program is part of a national campaign to eliminate homelessness for those who suffer with the greatest needs and struggles. In its first year, the program ended 300 years of collective homelessness.  Individuals in the program saw a 65% drop in emergency room use, and an 88% drop in incarceration rates. The program expanded in December of 2017 and then again in January 2020.

For eligibility, prospective clients must experience homelessness for more than one year due to disabilities and be assessed for the program at the Shalom Center between 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.