BELLEVILLE — Belleville City Council members are scheduled to vote at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, on a winter safety plan that would provide overnight shelter at the Catholic Diocese of Belleville’s McCormick Center for people with no place to go when temperatures fall to 20 degrees or below.
The plan, presented Monday, Aug. 17, is intended to protect people on the coldest winter nights and address safety concerns in the city, according to Kara Moore, a social worker who is chairwoman of the Emergency Weather Oversight Executive Committee.
“The city has had an ongoing problem of having desperate people breaking into abandoned homes and upsetting the neighbors,” Moore said. “A homeless man died in a fire in an abandoned house about a couple of years ago. Our volunteers will give these people a safe, warm place for the night. This center is an answer for everyone in the city.”
The Catholic Diocese of Belleville has offered the McCormick Center, 301 N. First St., to house the winter program. Cots provided by the city’s General Assistance Program would be placed in the building’s gymnasium, and refreshments would be provided…