This past Valentine’s Day— more than ever— the homeless community needs our help.
Pi Lambda Phi, an IU off-campus fraternity, raised more than $4,500 to put together care packages that would be donated to the homeless community around Bloomington. Donations to the GoFundMe page has nearly eclipsed $3,500.
The fundraising efforts were led by Drew Montgomery, a junior student at IU who serves as the philanthropy chair for Pi Lambda Phi.
“Valentine’s Day is a day for love, obviously. Not for just your spouses but for the people that are in your life,” Montgomery said. “Whether you believe it or not, we’re all in each other’s lives because we’re all on this planet together. That’s kind of exactly how I’ve been thinking about this.”
Homelessness rates in the state of Indiana have actually dropped over the past decade-plus. The state has seen a 26 percent decrease in the number of homeless people between 2007-19.
In 2019, Indiana tied Kansas for 41st among all U.S. states and the District of Columbia with 8.2 homeless people per 10,000 residents, according to Statista. That tally dropped to 8.0 homeless people per 10,000 residents in 2020, according to data from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
However, Bloomington and the remainder of Monroe Co. have seen an increase with people who are without a home. The United Way reported 380 individuals who are experiencing homeless in Monroe Co. in 2020.
“Honestly, we’re not really that different [to homeless individuals]. We react the same when we feel love. The insides, our makeup, it’s all the same when we look at each other,” Montgomery said. “The only thing different is how we look, our personalities, our experiences, our perspective. I could have been any one of these people. I could have been you. But I’m me, and now, we’re doing something about it.”
Montgomery describes how he helped promote his chapter’s philanthropy and communicated his message to the homeless community across Bloomington.
The care package items consisted of food, clothing, hygiene products, blankets, and some candy. Each one also included a handwritten note in honor of Valentine’s Day. The money raised resulted in nearly 100 care packages available for the homeless across Bloomington.
Montgomery started the fundraising campaign just ten days prior to Valentine’s Day. Taking advantage of his employee discount from Target, the money Montgomery saved from the main care package items went towards gift cards worth approximately $1,000 in total value to restaurants such as Subway, Chipotle, and Starbucks that were distributed to the homeless.
Chuck Hodge was one of the recipients of a care package at the Shalom Community Center. He has been homeless for the past 18 months, and has lived in Bloomington for a year.
“Oh, it’s wonderful man. We’ve got a lot of people here in the community that’s helping a lot,” Hodge said. “It’s heart-touching, it really is. It’s a big blessing for us.”
Hodge hopes everyday to receive his social security disability benefit from the government. The 52-year-old has battled four heart attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes over the course of his life.
“It’s been tough, being homeless this winter,” Hodge said. “Down at the new place they got for us to sleep at, they’ve got people come in and bring us some coffee and stuff. The community is all pulling through and helping us.”
Hodge describes his experience as a homeless individual in Bloomington. The 52-year-old has been homeless for 18 months, and has been in Bloomington for the past year.
The “new place” Hodge is referring to is the 4,000 square-foot warehouse that has been transformed into a homeless shelter down the B-Line trail. Formerly the CrossFit Bloomington warehouse, the shelter can be found alongside Switchyard Park.
“We have future events planned for the homeless community of Bloomington where this money, this is going to be the same fund all year while I am in this position,” Montgomery said. “We’re a non-profit organization. It’s about the feelings, it’s about the message we’re trying to convey. We’re just going to continue providing feelings, happy feelings, and good memories.”
If you would like to learn more about Montgomery and Pi Lambda Phi’s efforts to help the homeless, view this presentation.If you would like to learn more about resources for the homeless community of Bloomington, you can visit this site.
