Bloomington’s only shelter dedicated to women experiencing homelessness, the Wheeler Shelter for Women, closed nearly a year ago.
But there are other places in town that offer shelter for women in different capacities – such as the New Hope Families Shelter, The Rise, and Friend’s Place.
Rev. Forrest Gilmore is the executive director of Beacon, Inc., which runs Friends Place. Friend’s Place has a 40-bed capacity.
Before Wheeler’s women’s shelter closed, the bed ratio at Friend's Place for men and women was 28 to 12. But since last September, they flipped that in response to the Wheeler Women's Shelter closure.
Gilmore said so far, that ratio is working out.
"We seem to have a bed open here or there every night or so on the women's side," he said. "And so that's helping us decide whether we need to expand. We're not seeing that kind of demand at the door."
According to Point in Time count data, there are 202 households without children in Monroe County that are experiencing homelessness. This includes 58 women and 144 men.
