March 18, 2025
If you live in the city of Champaign, you have an opportunity to cast a vote on the April 1st ballot to support funding for the STRIDES Homeless Shelter and homelessness-prevention efforts provided by the City of Champaign Township. The ballot initiative involves a slight property tax increase within the City of Champaign.
Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is urging Champaign residents to vote YES to this ballot initiative.
Vote YES Champaign Information Session
Please join us for an informative panel discussion with local experts who will discuss the upcoming April 1 ballot measure to fund the City of Champaign Township and its Rental Assistance Program and the Strides Shelter.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Champaign Public Library, Robeson Pavilion C (first floor); 200 W. Green St., Champaign
About the Property Tax Levy
Voters in the City of Champaign will see the proposed property tax levy on their ballots. The measure reads as follows:
“CITY OF CHAMPAIGN TOWNSHIP
PROPOSITION TO INCREASE THE LIMITING RATE
Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for the City of Champaign Township be increased by an additional amount equal to 0.1786% above the limiting rate for the purpose of maintaining a 24/7, low-barrier shelter and providing for Assessor’s Office needs for levy year 2023 and be equal to 0.2203% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy year 2024?”
Why CCHCC is urging support for this property tax levy
The City of Champaign Township operates a Rental Assistance Program, which helps to prevent homelessness among individuals and families who owe back rent and are at risk of eviction, and helps support move-in costs for individuals and families transitioning from homelessness to an rental apartment or home. In the last year, this program has served 208 households.
CCHCC routinely refers clients who live in the City of Champaign to the City of Champaign Township’s Rental Assistance Program. We have seen first-hand the importance of this program in helping to stabilize people’s lives when they are at risk of homelessness because they have fallen behind on their rent. Most people who get help from this program have experienced a job loss and temporary loss of income due to a medical emergency. This program helps them catch up on their rent, so they do not have to face evictions and homelessness.
The City of Champaign Township also operates Strides, which is the only “low-barrier” shelter in Champaign County. Low-barrier means that Strides can provide shelter to almost all homeless individuals, including those with substance use disorders.
Strides has 64 beds and 10 expansion cots for residents experiencing homelessness, and is currently operating a wait list for individuals who want to get in to Strides.
The shelter’s staffing costs are primarily funded by federal COVID relief dollars provided through the City of Champaign, but these dollars are expected to last only through the end of June 2025. If no new funding is available, STRIDES will have to close and our community will no longer have a low-barrier shelter.
CCHCC’s work with homeless individuals at Strides Shelter
CCHCC knows the importance of Strides Shelter for our community. Our staff routinely work with clients of Strides, and the Staff at Strides, to provide outreach and enrollment services for Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and Disability (SSI and SSDI) Programs. We have a presence at Strides on a weekly basis as we partner with the Shelter to provide stabilizing services to the individuals who are there, so that they can move from homelessness to housing.
Our community would be devastated by the loss of the Strides shelter. The individuals who stay at Strides until they can get housed would also be devastated because there is no other low-barrier shelter or housing programs locally that could absorb so many homeless clients.
Sadly, Strides has had over 70 homeless individuals who are aged 62 and older. Nationally, there is an increase in the number of elderly individuals who are being homeless, and we are seeing this increase in our own community.
Being homeless is harmful to a person’s health, and being homeless on the streets without shelter can be devastating and lead to early death. Our community is fortunate to have Strides as a low-barrier shelter, so that individuals can have shelter as they move from homelessness to being housed, a process that can take a long time in our community.
Please vote YES to the City of Champaign Township Tax Referendum!
Again, CCHCC urges City of Champaign residents to vote YES to the property tax referendum that will help fund the Strides Shelter and the homeless-prevention services provided by the City of Champaign Township.
Thank you for your consideration!
Sincerely,
Champaign County Health Care Consumers