ALTON - Community leaders and social service workers came together to learn more about homelessness in Madison County, including a proposal for a new shelter.
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On Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, Hand Up Housing (HUH) and Inner City Mission presented “Homelessness Reexamined,” a workshop focused on solutions to homelessness. Dani Robinette, executive director of HUH, and Scott Payne with Inner City Mission explained how homelessness has evolved and their plans to combat homelessness in Madison County.
“We really want this day to be a larger continuation of a conversation we’ve been having for years in Madison County,” Payne said. “What I’m asking Madison County to do is come alongside Hand Up Housing and start looking at this. What I’m asking you to do is think about specific areas where you’d be willing to help.”
In 2024, an outreach team with HUH identified 251 individuals who are experiencing street homelessness in Madison County. Payne and Robinette clarified that many people who are considered homeless are actually “shelterless,” meaning they do not have the capacity for “consistent rational thought” because of a substance use disorder or a mental health disorder.
They believe that shelterlessness is systemic and can be solved. They shared the story of Melvin, a man helped by Inner City Mission in Springfield, who experiences psychosis. Payne and Robinette urged the audience to think about the “Melvins” in the community.
“It doesn't matter that we truly house probably 85% of the homeless folks that we work with, because there are 20% that are Melvins,” Payne said. “Until we actually holistically look at this, we’re going to have the same problem. We’re going to have people trapped in their own minds.”
To solve the issue of shelterlessness, HUH has proposed seven solutions, starting with a tethered technician team. These teams of three would build a relationship with an individual experiencing shelterlessness, with the aim of becoming a relational resource to that individual. In 2025, HUH hopes to recruit, train and deploy 30 tethered technician teams.
The second solution proposed by HUH is to open a “Navigation Center” in rural Madison County. This 24/7/365 low-barrier shelter would be for adults only and would be privately funded.
HUH hopes to plan and construct the shelter throughout 2026–2027, with the goal of opening in 2028. Payne emphasized the importance of building a foundation of relationships before opening the shelter.
“You really don’t see too many places where that’s really being tried or done,” he explained. “Some of the most successful in the nation are places that have done the relationship, and then they’ve taken one aspect of the shelterless and worked with that…The successful have always started with a solid relationship first.”
The third solution would be to create permanent supportive housing through the “Riverbend Bridge Community,” a program that provides tiny homes for formerly shelterless individuals who want to live independently in a supportive community. HUH’s goal is to begin housing people in the Riverbend Bridge Community by 2030.
While these goals are being implemented, four other simultaneous goals include codifying codes and ordinances, unifying Madison County on street homelessness, advocating for change in state and federal laws, and expanding access to mental health services.
Robinette shared that she previously tried to open a shelter in Illinois and found that there were other barriers she didn’t anticipate. The foundation of relationships is an important part of this plan, she explained.
“I learned that it wasn’t about a building and it wasn’t about funding,” she said. “There's other groundwork to do.”
The total seven-year cost is projected to be $10,871,000. Robinette and Payne emphasized that the second year begins now, with people coming together to support HUH. For more information about Hand Up Housing and their plans, visit HandUpHousing.org.
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