Hotels for Homeless opened Cassondra and Nancy’s this month, providing transitional housing for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. But it’s only received one donation in support.
That’s according to Katie Norris, the director of Hotels for Homeless. It opened Robin and Trisha’s in 2021 to provide transitional housing for men, and they’ve sheltered others through emergency hotels stays.
She said they tried to find a building to expand its services to women, children, and families. But finances and availability were getting in the way.
Norris has since opened five rooms in Robin and Trisha’s to create Cassondra and Nancy’s, because money would go further.
“One thousand dollars goes a lot further at Cassondra and Nancy's House than it does at the hotels," she said. "It's about two weeks at a hotel, where it's about two months at Cassondra and Nancy's.
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Cassondra and Nancy’s House is the portion set aside for families in Robin and Trisha’s.
The house currently houses six individual men, five women with four children, and two nonbinary individuals.
Hotels for Homeless received a reimbursement grant from the City of Bloomington for more than $14,000. But Norris said that means they need donations first to spend any money.
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Norris said the house hasn't recieved enough community support to sustain services. She says it costs them $600 a month to run a room with a family.
"And we really want to keep going, we don't want to stop," she said.
She works with other shelter and housing groups in the area, and they often contact her when they’re not able to get someone housing.
“We don't let people not have a place. I don't know how to explain that," Norris said. "We just work until we figure it out. That's just what we do.”
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Norris said since the start of June, Cassondra and Nancy’s has transitioned four women and eight children to long- term stable housing.
