BLOOMINGTON More than 300 people are homeless on the streets of Bloomington and Monroe County. They will soon have a new place to lay their heads and turn their lives around.

The Beacon Center broke ground Tuesday afternoon on Bloomington's west side. The building will replace an abandoned industrial complex with permanent and temporary housing, healthcare services and employment resources.

The new center on West 3rd Street will replace Beacon, Incorporated's aging Shalom Center on Walnut Street.

"We talked about it like a landing strip, the lights in the night that guide you home," said Rev. Forrest Gilmore, the executive director of Beacon, Inc. "That's what the center will be."

The new Beacon Center got off the ground thanks in part to nearly $5 million in donations raised by more t

See Full Page