About Us
What is Perry Township?
Perry Township is your most local measurement of government. Established by surveys in 1812 and 1817, Perry Township includes the communities of Broadview, Clear Creek, Handy, Hoosier Acres, Sanders, and Sunny Slopes. Perry Township is Governed by an elected board and an elected Township Trustee.
Who are the Township Officers?
The Perry Township officers, as pictured above, are elected by the people of the township. The current Trustee is Dan Combs. The Township Board member is Susie Hamilton, the Secretary is Jack E. Davis, and the Board President is Barbara Sturbaum.
What does Perry Township do?
Perry Township primarily provides emergency assistance to low-income people experiencing a crisis of need. The office is located at 1010 South Walnut Street, Bloomington, IN 47401, and may be reached by telephone at (812) 336-3713.
In addition, Perry Township has a variety of other responsibilities, including the maintenance of abandoned cemeteries, mowing rank and overgrown vegetation, and resolving fence line disputes.
How does Perry Township Help?
Perry Township offers a number of Programs and Services to help low income people:
- Emergency Assistance Voucher Program
- Food Pantry, located at our office (Perry Township residents only)
- We are also major sponsors, supporters, and partners with other significant social service agencies.
Perry Township is not an entitlement program that offers ongoing monthly assistance. Instead, we help get people through the onset of a crisis, and point them to the right place for continuing assistance if needed. We're here to help in an emergency, but not with long-term assistance.
How does Someone Qualify for Help?
You come in to the office and speak with a Perry Township staff member to explain the emergency situation and fill out an application for assistance. We do an intensive client investigation of the situation, environment, and circumstances of your emergency. Perry Township acts as a bridge to help you get out of the emergency situation. We talk with you about your short and long-term needs. We can put you in touch with private, local, state, and federal organizations that might be able to help.
We can also provide immediate assistance for basic living requirements, such as rent, housing, transportation, and food. The assistance is not paid to you, but directly to the companies that provide the services you need. These may include landlords, mortgage lenders, gas stations, etc. Everyone is responsible to the level they can assume - then we step in and help pick up the slack.
Funding
Who pays for all of this?
Like most other townships, Perry is funded by property taxes. If you are a resident of the city of Bloomington, this comes out to a little less than 1% of your total tax bill. We work very hard to make sure every dollar counts by running an efficient operation and leveraging your tax money.
How does Perry Township make the best use of public funds?
We want to help the greatest number of in-need people as efficiently as possible. We've found that providing key assistance and investments in selected not-for-profit organizations gets us to that goal. One way we do this is to have an instrumental role in the founding and/or funding of important area service organizations.
We leverage the public funds to create the biggest bang for the taxpayer's buck. For instance, we provide operating space for New 
Leaf New Life, whose mission is to support individuals during incarceration and in their transition back into our community. Perry Township also provides operating space to Area 10 Council on Aging to operate their food delivery program.
We helped to seed the program. We provide a building and some not-for-profit infrastructure, making possible the grants, donations, and volunteer work that is the engine and power of this organization. Perry Township makes strategic investments of our staff and our resources. This is leveraging -- using tax dollars to get the job done far beyond direct taxpayer cost.
Which organizations has Perry Township helped to found or currently funds?
We're proud of our role in founding and/or funding an enormous share of local organizations that - lor lack of a better term - do good in our community.
Area 10 Agency on Aging
Perry Township is proud to announce a new partnership with Area 10 Agency on Aging to operate a senior apartment complex with 12 newly-renovated rooms in the 700 block of West Wylie and West Dodds Sreet. Inquiries about housing opportunities should be directed to Chris Myers, Housing Manager.
Phone Number
Friend's Place
An overnight shelter for individuals who are homeless. They operate a 28-bed facility provided by the township.
My Sister's Closet
An outlet for new and gently used women's professional clothing. Visit them at 414 South College Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47403.
Phone Number
Mother Hubbard's Cupboard
A food pantry with 900 visitors per week. Visit them at 1100 West Allen Street, Bloomington, IN 47403.
Phone Number
Community Kitchen
A hunger relief organization serving about 400 meals per day from two locations. The main facility is provided by Perry Township at 1515 South Rogers Street, Bloomington, IN 47403. Their hours are 4:00pm - 6:00pm Monday-Saturday.
Their Express Location can be found at 1100 West 11th Street, Bloomington, IN 47404. The Express Location Hours are 4:00pm - 6:00pm Monday-Saturday.
Phone Number
Fax
(812) 332-1937
Financial Support Breakdown (2022)
| Organization | Support Amount |
|---|---|
| Amethyst House | $3,000.00 |
| Beacon | $20,000.00 |
| Boys and Girls Club | $2,000.00 |
| Centerstone (Stepping Stones) | $1,000.00 |
| Community Kitchen | $15,000.00 |
| Courage to Change | $5,000.00 |
| Girls’ Inc | $500.00 |
| Hoosier Hills Food Bank | $17,500.00 |
| Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard | $5,000.00 |
| New Hope Family Shelter | $15,000.00 |
| New Leaf New Life | $5,000.00 |
| Pantry 279 | $1,000.00 |
| VITAL | $1,000.00 |
| Food Pantry Perry Township | $10,000.00 |
| Emergency Shelter (set-a-side) not for Friend’s Place | $10,000.00 |
| Community Court Liaison Project | $0.00 |