C-U at Home

01/31/2026

Thanks to WCIA 3 News and Amanda Brennan for another insightful story about C-U at Home. Meteorologist Kevin Lighty of WCIA 3 News will be doing his weekly Weather on the Road from our annual fundraiser, One Winter Night, on Friday, February 6. Amanda will also be there as our MC for the evening. Grateful for the support from this leader in our community!

Life is full of its ups and downs, its challenges and its celebrations. Many clients at Champaign's CU at Home know that firsthand, especially Elizabeth Campbell and Alex Coker.

01/30/2026

Help us celebrate!

Here’s the link to donate: https://p2p.onecause.com/onepersonatatime

Donating with a check? Here’s our address
C-U at Home
P.O. Box 8816
Champaign, IL 61826

C-U at Home: Ending homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME

01/30/2026

Today we highlight a client’s story to show what is possible when a person’s grit and resilience is partnered with a program of resources and support.

This client had just begun to rebuild trust with her children when she relapsed and returned to an abusive relationship. In a matter of weeks, everything she had worked toward over nine months felt like it disappeared. The relationship that promised it had changed hadn’t—and she was left facing the reality of relapse, loss, and deep disappointment.

But something else rose up alongside that pain: resolve.

She wasn’t ready to give up.

She returned to Narcotics Anonymous, where she crossed paths with another C-U at Home client. Even with only two days of sobriety, she felt a flicker of hope—tempered by fear. Who would give her a chance now? she wondered.

That question led her to our door.

The C-U at Home client from the NA meeting saw her potential and believed she hadn’t fought her last fight. That belief mattered. Today, she is in our program, currently employed, and has begun attending Parkland College. She’s taking basic courses and knows she’s starting small—but she’s clear-eyed and determined. “I know I have to start somewhere,” she says. Someday, she hopes to help other people struggling with addiction—not just get clean, but STAY clean.

Two of her children have begun rebuilding their relationship with her. One isn’t ready yet—and she understands.
“I have to be patient,” she says. “I let them down, so they get to take their time.”

This is what resilience looks like—not perfection, but persistence. Not a straight line forward, but the courage to stand back up and keep going.

C-U at Home: Ending Homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME

We are in our fundraising season and currently have a $5000 Matching Gift open. Donate today and double your impact. Help us support more stories like this one!
To donate: https://p2p.onecause.com/onepersonatatime

If you prefer to mail a check:
C-U at Home
PO Box 8816
Champaign, IL. 61826

01/29/2026

The Gift of a Kitchen

HGTV tells us the kitchen is the heart of the home. Many of us have cherished memories from our time in our kitchens: baking cookies with our children, preparing holiday meals for our families, cooking that first dinner with the person who turns out to be THE ONE. We can’t imagine not having a kitchen!

Living without a kitchen is a harsh reality of homelessness that has serious consequences for a person’s health. What can you eat without a kitchen and the financial resources to eat out for every meal? Cedar King, a C-U at Home case manager, describes a kitchenless diet as “Gas station cuisine”. A can of soup or fruit from the Dollar Store (must have a pull top). A hot dog from the rotisserie case by the cash register. Nothing fresh. Nothing warm out of the oven. The preservatives and salt content from this diet often lead to chronic health conditions such as diabetes and/or high blood pressure.

Our clients have access to a kitchen and all the benefits that come with a kitchen. A refrigerator to store fresh fruits and vegetables. Homemade meals with less salt and preservatives, but the biggest benefit to having kitchens in our houses is the friendships built and strengthened by sharing meals together with housemates.

Getting to know each other. Sharing stories. Building trust. Celebrating the good times. Lifting each other up in the tough times. These are the gifts of a kitchen.

C-U at Home: Ending Homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

Our annual fundraiser, One Winter Night, happens February 6. Your gift will help us sustain and expand our services and capacity. Now we have a matching gift of $5000 so your gift will be doubled. We need YOU to meet this match!
To donate : https://p2p.onecause.com/onepersonatatime

01/28/2026

ILLINOIS-WISCONSIN Men’s Basketball Ticket Raffle
Game Day is Tuesday, February 10

WIN 4 tickets AND a parking pass
Tickets are in Section 230, Row 6. Parking pass is for the Southwest lot.

🎟️ $25 per entry | Unlimited entries
⏰ Winner drawn February 4 at noon

👉ENTER TODAY: https://p2p.onecause.com/own2026/ilvswi

C-U at Home
Ending homelessness, one person at a time.

01/27/2026

Do you remember the excitement of getting your first paycheck? Maybe you were saving to buy a car or dreaming of moving into your own apartment. That job opened the door to a new world of possibilities!

And so, it is for our clients. One of our employed clients told us of the joy of being able to shop for clothing in a store where he could not only select the size he wanted but also choose the color he wanted. He looked great in his maroon polo!

Our Pathways to Progress program includes financial education through our community partner, Busey Bank. Clients start their own checking and savings accounts. They learn how to budget for monthly expenses and put away money for financial security.

Our annual fundraiser, One Winter Night, happens February 6. Your gift will help us sustain and expand our services and capacity. We currently have a Matching Gift of $5000. Donate now and your gift will have twice the impact!

Here’s the link to donate: https://p2p.onecause.com/onepersonatatime

Donating with a check? Here’s our address
C-U at Home
P.O. Box 8816
Champaign, IL 61826

C-U at Home: Ending homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME

01/27/2026

WE HAVE A $5000 MATCHING GIFT ACTIVE NOW!

Our new facility on Mattis Avenue allows us to increase our capacity by 40% which means our fundraising for One Winter Night is more important than ever. This generous matching gift gives us the chance to get closer to our goal of $150,000.

But we need YOU!

Your gift today will help us provide safe and stable housing and connect our clients with resources that will help them rebuild their lives.

Donate NOW and your gift will have double the impact.
Here’s the link to donate: https://p2p.onecause.com/onepersonatatime

Or mail your check made payable to C-U at Home to:
C-U at Home
P.O. Box 8816
Champaign, IL 61826

C-U at Home: Ending homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME

01/26/2026

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!

$5000 Matching Gift starts NOW.

Here's the link: https://p2p.onecause.com/onepersonatatime

C-U at Home: Ending Homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME

01/26/2026

We all know family relationships can be hard to navigate. Asking for forgiveness, taking responsibility for your actions, forgiving a deep hurt, extending grace, and building bridges with love is hard work that often takes years to achieve. We lift up these women as they navigate the sacred journey of motherhood to restore and strengthen their family ties.

C-U at Home: Ending Homelessness ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

Our annual fundraiser, One Winter Night, happens February 6. Your gift will help us sustain and expand our services and capacity.
To donate : https://p2p.onecause.com/own2026/

01/25/2026

We had so much fun reconnecting with our Austin’s Place volunteers on Friday night! It was a joy to connect with faces and names from a very special time in our lives. Our Austin’s Place gathering took place at the new space for our shelter. There have been a lot of changes from the last time we walked out of the FUMC basement to where we are today, providing care for both men and women 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. We gathered and toured the new C-U at Home building on South Mattis in Champaign. And for those who saw the building for the first time, and even for those of us who have watched it under construction, we celebrated what we all created together.

Though the renovation is not 100% complete, attendees were able to fully experience the vision of what services will be like in this beautiful new space — a new home for 26 clients.

The Austin’s Place volunteers are a special group of humans. For thirteen winters, they came out in the cold to spend the night with women in the basement of Champaign First UMC. They got to know our ladies and cared for them like family. In addition to staying overnight, some volunteers transported the women from the screening sight to the shelter. Others did laundry or donated snacks and supplies. They celebrated the opening of the shelter in December and mourned the closing in April. These volunteers were the life’s blood of this mission.

We kept a journal in the volunteer cabinet at Austin’s Place. The volunteers would write down what supplies were needed and general notes of how the night had gone. Here is a volunteer note from the 2018-2019 season that pretty much sums up what Austin’s Place was all about for those thirteen all-volunteer seasons:
“You know, when 7:30pm rolls around and it’s dark and a bit cold outside, it’s hard to leave one’s home to encounter a strange situation and sleep in a church basement. But every time I do, I feel blessed. The yoke is not heavy and the burden is light. That church basement feels like the true meaning of the word “sanctuary” where we all have a refuge from cold and fear and can rest in God’s love.”

If you were unable to attend the event, but would like to see our new home, please drop a comment below, and we will plan to give you a personal tour!

01/25/2026

The Gift of Drawers and Closets

No matter how wonderful the vacation was, it always feels good to come home, unpack, and put our toothbrush back in the holder in the bathroom.

Whenever a new client joins C-U at Home, they express wonder and gratitude for having drawers and closets to store their clothes and belongings. After carrying their lives with them for so long, they are finally able to unpack their socks, fold the t-shirts, and hang their jeans.

They can finally say, “I’m home”!

C-U at Home: Ending Homelessness: ONE PERSON AT A TIME

Our annual fundraiser, One Winter Night, happens February 6. Your gift will help us sustain and expand our services and capacity.
To donate: https://p2p.onecause.com/own2026/

01/24/2026

https://www.wcia.com/video/cu-at-home-parkland-college-partnership-allowing-students-to-succeed/11456464

A story highlighting two of our clients, Elizabeth and Alex and one of our board members, Marietta Turner. Thanks to WCIA 3 News and reporter, Amanda Brennan, for this insightful and inspiring story.

Each year, about 12,000 students enroll at Champaign's Parkland College, ready to start their next chapters. Each of them has a different background, some trying to rebuild their lives and educational journeys.