Residents press council to fund Stride shelter and address safety at Oakwood Trace

Several residents and service providers urged the Champaign City Council to support a referendum and local funding for the Stride shelter and described an increase in homelessness and housing instability in the city during the public participation portion of the meeting.

Martin Miller, who said he conducts street outreach countywide, told the council he has seen growing homelessness and urged support for the township tax levy that would fund shelter services. "The strides closed, they average about 75 people have beds tonight, and people will be turned away," he said, adding that hotels have been used temporarily to house people and that families are at risk of ending up on the street. Miller criticized current local tax allocations and said he had distributed material about tax levies for shelter funding.

Shayla Kenyon Bass Bridal, deputy supervisor of Cunningham Township, told…