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Fundraiser for homeless brings in $27,000

Tue, 02/14/2012 - 9:00am | Debra Pressey

CHAMPAIGN — Donations for One Winter Night, an event that had 31 people sleeping outside in cardboard boxes in downtown Champaign to raise money for housing the homeless, have reached about $26,695.

The Feb. 3 event was organized by C-U at Home, an organization working to find housing for more than a dozen homeless people considered most vulnerable to dying in the street.

Melany Jackson, the organization's founder, said the money raised will go toward rent and utilities for the first person C-U at Home has placed in a rental house, Vern Chounard.

A 50-year-old former restaurant cook who was homeless eight of the past 11 years, Chounard moved into the house just before Christmas.

The landlords donated the use of the house rent-free through the end of March, but C-U at Home has to pay the utilities and the rent after March until Chounard is able to support himself.

Jackson said the money raised should cover those costs through the end of the year, and some will also be saved to help cover the cost of housing the next homeless people placed in apartments or houses.

Jackson said at least 200 people volunteered for the fundraiser, and she considers it a success.

She has been asking landlords to donate vacant housing spaces for the homeless, but only the owners of Chounard's small rental house in Champaign have come forward so far.

A rough estimate of what it costs to house one homeless person is $1,500 per month, she said.

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ahowie wrote on February 14, 2012 at 10:02 am

I gave money to this, so it's not that I don't agree with what you are doing but why are estimated costs so high?! I've supported myself on less with and without federal assistance. I have seen senior citizens sucessfully support themselves on 600-900 dollars. Grad students also support themselves on less here in Champaign Urbana. It's not easy but there are corners that could be cut somewhere...

meljackson wrote on February 14, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Ahowie:

First of all, thank you for your contribution to One Winter Night! Please know that your financial donation and the others made to C-U at Home will be used to house and support the most vulnerable homeless in our community who have said they want to turn over a new leaf and rebuild their lives. Your support is so valuable in helping us create the solutions they need.

I do want to address your inquiry, which is an excellent one. The $1500/month is not a hard figure focused on only rent and utilities. Also included in this figure, which will vary based  on the individual we are helping, are the very important support needs for each resident. These include medical and dental issues that largely have been ignored during a period of homelessness, mental health and addiction support and counseling, prescriptions, and other basic needs (like getting appropriate documentation to help people get back to work such as birth records, licenses, etc.).

It’s important to know that C-U at Home is not just about taking just anyone off the streets and putting them under a roof, but about truly giving those who want to make a change the support they need to give them the best possible opportunity to become self-sustaining, productive residents. A roof and warmth is only a part of that – the support services and network are the other very large part to fostering success. You can trust that we will make every single dollar donated to C-U at Home stretch as far as it can in providing all the requirements needed by each individual selected for our help.

Professionals in the areas of physical health, mental health, and substance abuse recovery are encouraged to join in our efforts by offering services at reduced or no cost for the residents we serve. If you or others have contacts that might be benevolent to the cause of homelessness, we would love to hear from them.

Thank you for your comment, your donation, and your support of this much-needed mission to house and support the most vulnerable homeless who are ready and willing to make changes in their lives. We need thinkers like you to help us solve some of these very complex problems.