The Need

C-U at Home believes housing costs and accessibility to stable housing are the most significant goals that can be reached. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs having one’s most basic needs met is the beginning of stability, and we believe will ultimately lead to self-fulfillment in the form of community integration. Of the estimated total population of 87k in Champaign County, the summer point-in-time count conducted by the CSPH indicated that 194 individuals are homeless. An article from the Economic Roundtable in January 2021 projected that the pandemic recession will increase chronic homelessness by 49% over the next four years, and as also published in Market Watch in January 2021, there will be twice the level of homelessness since the Great Recession.

While there is current funding for the implementation of the low-barrier portion of the shelter system, limited funding has been set aside for services or a suitable environment to address the needs of mid- barrier clients. Mid-Barrier clients are defined as part of a system of care in which individuals experiencing homelessness are provided with intensive case management in an environment that supports stability and community integration. C-U at Home will provide appropriate mid-barrier housing support services, promoting stability and community integration. This type of support allows clients to participate in client-centered, trauma-informed services. These services provide the best outcomes in a trauma-informed environment.

Providing housing support that leads to community integration through the physical design structure, “requires realizing how the physical environment affects identity, worth and dignity, and how it promotes empowerment”. A link coexists between our physiological state, our emotional state, and the physical environment. Serving people who are experiencing homelessness requires that staff have knowledge, understanding, and practice of trauma-informed care an environment that supports stability. An appropriate non-congregated shelter provides spaces that are inviting, demonstrate safety, and provides some degree of privacy, while not interfering with staff needs to support clients in reaching their goals.