New Hope for Families broke ground on our new facility in Bloomington on April 12, 2021. This was possible in part because New Hope was awarded a $500,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI) with the help of Jackson County Bank (JCB) to assist in funding the new construction.

This construction is the first step of a much-needed expansion to increase shelter capacity from seven to 12 families and expand childcare from 16 to 48 children. For the past decade, the shelter has been operating from a few houses on the former property of the IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

New Hope for Families Executive Director Emily Pike, JCB Vice President of Commercial Banking Tim Risen, FHLBI AHP Portfolio Manager Mike Recker, New Hope Development Director Jim Olsen, and New Hope Board President Andrew Allard at the groundbreaking ceremony for New Hope’s new facility.

“Ten years ago, a small group of dedicated volunteers and compassionate community leaders resolved to create a resource for families who weren’t being served in our community,” New Hope co-founder Sue Shindell said. “We started out serving just three families at a time. We knew the work was important, but we couldnn’t have imagined what it would grow into.”

While many large-scale development projects may use AHP grant dollars to help meet the financing gap between tax credits and subsidies, New Hope is using AHP to fund a significant portion of their overall expenses.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this incredibly important project,” said Mike Recker, AHP Portfolio Manager at FHLBI. “This development will provide shelter and supportive services to families experiencing homelessness in and around the City of Bloomington; a need not being sufficiently met”

Jackson County Bank (JCB) and Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI)

Recker added, “We are inspired by New Hope for Families and the passion their team has for helping these families move from homelessness to long-term stability. Not to mention the perseverance they have displayed in getting to this point. We value our partnership with Jackson County Bank and understand the critical role these AHP dollars will play in getting this development completed.”

The shelter will feature two new buildings: one to provide emergency shelter for local families experiencing homelessness and the other to house New Hope’s early childhood care and education programs. The increase to New Hope’s current capacity will address our community’s unmet needs for shelter and early childhood care and education services.

“The City of Bloomington works very hard on affordable housing, and one of the most important things we get to do is partner with great collaborative entities like New Hope for Families,” said Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. “Many of us don’t think about families when we think about people experiencing homelessness, but far too many are families with children. New Hope does a fantastic job with their commitment to helping kids and families, and they are making Bloomington a better place for everyone.”

The new campus of New Hope for Families is expected to be substantially completed by the end of this year.

Learn more about New Hope’s $5.75 million capital campaign

Banks help New Hope break ground