The weather is starting to turn colder - often leaving the homeless in need of a place to stay, especially at night.
Code Purple Sanctuaries are preparing to address that need in Kent and Sussex Counties.
In Kent County, Code Purple works with churches and non-profits to offer sanctuaries for those that need to get in out of the cold.
Becky Martin is the director of Kent County Code Purple.
“Well, the sanctuaries will open on December 1st, when the wind chill reaches 32 degrees or below. We have sanctuaries for men and then we also have sanctuaries for women and children,” Martin said.
Martin estimates there are 3- to 400 homeless people currently living in the Dover area alone. She expects many of them to utilize the sanctuaries this winter.
In Sussex County, Code Purple Executive Director Nikki Gonzalez says the plan there is to have sanctuaries ready to open on November 25th.
“So any time that it drops below 32 degrees after November 25th, we will open. We also open every night from December 15th to March 15th (2019),” Gonzalez said.
The number of sanctuaries in Sussex is doubling from four to eight this year and Gonzalez says it needs the community to chip in to keep them open.
“We need donations of like paper goods for dinner - we go through a lot of those - with the addition of four extra shelters - we need a lot more donations,” said Gonzalez.
Kent County Code Purple is also seeking donations - and notes prepared meals and meals that can be frozen are always a need.
For more information about Sussex County Code Purple, click here.
And for more information about Kent County Code Purple, click here. You can also search @Codepurplekentcounty on Facebook for the latest information.
