DECATUR - A large homemade sign was visible in the room: "There is no place like Oasis."

And it was seen by all the people who packed the Grand Hall at Central Christian Church on Monday night for a town hall meeting about the future of the Oasis Day Center and whether it will be forced to close because of a lack of funding.

"Tonight, the looming question is what will happen to Oasis," Nancy Rude, director of Oasis told the crowd.

At least 175 to 200 people seek refuge at the Oasis every day between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In the past, the Illinois Department of Human Services provided $230,000 in state funding to Oasis. That funding has been slashed to $75,000 for the year 2009.

This leaves Oasis with a shortfall of $160,000 to operate for the next year.

"I'm not OK with closing Oasis," said Diana Knaebe, president of Heritage Behavorial Health Center which runs the Oasis. "I want to keep it open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 365 days of the year. If you have family, you wouldn't want them out in the cold or be hot and have no place to go."

Mary Garrison, assistant professor of social work at Millikin University and her students gave a Power Point presentation on why Oasis should stay open and its impact on the community.

Garrison and he students said Oasis offers a safe haven for a population that wouldn't otherwise be reached. The day center provides the homeless with the ability to take showers, wash their clothes, access to a telephone and job postings, along with socializing with others by playing cards and other games. Heritage also links individuals at Oasis to health services if they need it.

When it came to possible solutions of keeping Oasis open, the students presented several ideas including fundraisers, developing community partners, exploring other types of grants and doing a community "blitz" campaign to raise the money.

If Oasis closes, said Katie Garner, one of the Millikin students during the presentation, "emergency services, police department, restaurants, libraries, churches, parks and businesses will be overwhelmed (because of the number of homeless)."

Jeff Mueller knows what it is to be homeless and talked about what he went through. He is now shelter director over 16 men at the Salvation Army.

"I am so dead-set on keeping Oasis open. Let's not do it to keep them (homeless) off the streets, or to keep them out of your neighborhoods, but do it because it's the right thing to do," Mueller said.

Several individuals at the town hall meeting did step up to the plate in making a donation.

Robert Bushey with Central Christian Church was the first to present a check of $4,000 to Oasis. The church gave $5,000 when Oasis first opened back in 1999.

Millikin student Krista Carter presented a $10,000 check to Oasis on behalf of St. Mary's Hospital CEO Kevin Cast. Kevin Breheny, president of J.L. Hubbard Insurance and Bonds, matched St. Mary's with a $10,000 check.

The Rev. Anthony Anderson with the Black Clergy of Decatur and AOK Travel Network pledged $1,000 annually to Oasis.

Sheila Smith can be reached at sheilas@herald-review.com or 421-7963.