A Bloomington non-profit that provides transitional housing for homeless youth is in need of tens of thousands of dollars in funding after losing a federal grant that's its second largest source of income.
Stepping Stones is turning to the community for help. The organization provides homeless 16-to-20 year olds with temporary housing while they work toward a high school diploma and securing employment.
"We find that a good deal of our young people are often coming from families of generational poverty," says Executive Director Alysia Fornal. "There's some sort of family dysfunction or breakdown that's often causing them to be homeless. There's a small number of young people that are actually coming directly from the streets, living on the streets. But there's a larger number of young people that are unstably housed."
The organization received a federal Emergency Solutions Grant for the past several years. Last year the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Stepping Stones nearly $56,000. That money covered the non-profit's operating costs.
But because of an error on the grant application, Stepping Stones won't get the grant this year. Until this week, the organization was preparing to shut its doors.
"It was a really scary circumstance to be a source of instability for these young people who have often experienced instability for far too long before coming to our program," Fornal says.
But through a Go Fund Me campaign, Fornal says they've raised the $16,000 necessary to keep Stepping Stones open for now. The organization hopes to raise close to $40,000 more to make up for the rest of the lost funding.
Fornal says they'll reapply for the grant next year. The organization is also considering merging with another non-profit.