New Day Intake Center is nearing construction eight months after groundbreaking

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After years of planning, fundraising, and controversy, a new state of the art facility to help the homeless is nearing construction in South Bend.

It's called the New Day Intake Center; a nearly $19 million investment to house people safely and provide the support services they often need.

It's been more than eight months since city leaders, founders, and supporters of the intake center were at the site off Old Cleveland Road, breaking ground and celebrating the incoming facility.

By the looks of it, people may think nothing has been done yet, but New Day Intake Center Executive Director Sheila McCarthy says it's been a lot of behind-the-scenes work over the past several months.

She says by midsummer, the site will look a lot different.

"Oh my gosh, all the construction documents and everything is just laid out so it's really, we can all see it in our mind's eye and look forward to seeing it start to happen," says Sheila McCarthy, Executive Director of the New Day Intake Center.

The low-barrier shelter for the unhoused is nearing construction, with construction bids out now.

McCarthy says she's been busy with the back-end work, planning how they want to build the land while preserving it as much as possible.

"We've been doing all this site development here, taking all of the scans. There's more topography at this site than many places in South Bend, which is pretty flat," McCarthy explains. "So that's kept our architecture firm busy and our general construction manager busy as they try to work out what's the best way that we can build into these hills."

Preserving a more than 120-year-old maple tree is a priority of hers.

"We'll be able to keep it as a centerpiece of stability," says McCarthy.

Like many major construction projects though, there are some road bumps to face.

Namely, the rising cost of construction supplies and delays.

"Dealing with that here in this project, not unsurprising, just things we have to contend with," says McCarthy.

The New Day Intake Center is still campaigning to round out funding for the project with $350,000 to go and several fundraising events in the works.

"We're hopeful we'll be able to raise that this year still," McCarthy hopes.

She says it's all being done to bring what she calls a critical need to the community.

"All of us are better when everyone has housing," McCarthy says. "When everyone has a place to live, all of us are better."

McCarthy says they are still on track at this point to be open and moving people in by this time next year.

New Day is running its campaign through the end of the year; you can find additional details and upcoming events here: Healing Begins Here Campaign | Join Our Cause Today — New Day Intake Center