Homeless Man Given Permanent Shelter Dies

A homeless man living in the Champaign-Urbana area who gained a lot of attention last year after he was given a home has died.

50-year-old Vern Chounard passed away this week from a traumatic brain injury following a fall. 

Melany Jackson is with the group C-U at Home, which helps find housing for some of the area’s most vulnerable people. She was able to connect Chounard with a home, but he only stayed there for about four months before entering a rehab program for alcoholism.

Jackson said Chounard spent the last few months of his life on the streets.

“Something that’s really hard for me to deal with is we had planned to put him in a house again in three weeks," Chounard said. "The first week of September we’re going to be getting additional housing, and we had planned to put him in a house with his best friend off the street.”

A memorial service for Chounard is set for Saturday at 2pm at New Covenant Fellowship church in Champaign.