In January of 1931 the Pantagraph featured three photos of homeless, jobless men in the city. The old boiler building of the McLean County Coal Company was being used by homeless men as a place to sleep and live. The photo below is of men at the old coal mine, using a fire to warm themselves or prepare food. The composition and quality of the photo makes it almost look like a painting of the huddled men, with only one man willing to show his face. The Pantagraph also showed an old jalopy that had been converted into a home, with a brick lined chimney for heat. In 1931, one form of relief was allowing unemployed men to cut wood at Lake Bloomington for fuel. The Pantagraph observed that all the unemployed men were eager to take advantage of this opportunity and that none of them were slackers.
In 1933 the Home Sweet Home Mission was able to double its capacity for shelter. This was mostly made possible through donations of materials and work from local citizens and transients. Will Shelper reported that over 12, 900 night's shelter had been given in 1933 and that over 44,000 meals had been served. Many of these services went to transients, but local needs were also being met. The Mission was important during the Depression in giving relief from the soul crushing poverty brought by the Depression.