The Pallet Village in Georgetown has been open for six months and officials say it’s seeing positive results.
A total of 73 people have called the Springboard Collaborative’s Pallet Village home in its first six months, all of them previously living in Georgetown encampments. 79 percent of them have not returned to unsheltered homelessness. A third of the 33 people who have come and gone from the village have found permanent housing.
Collaborative Executive Director Judson Malone says providing residents with safety and security is vital to getting them back on their feet.
“Once they come into this environment where it’s safe, and they have their own lockable cabin, their mindset, they can relax, and all of a sudden they can have hope, compared to living in a tent in the woods where it’s really rough living,” Malone says.
Malone says Milford may be the next location for a pallet village, and notes that Dover has expressed interest as well. Milford Mayor Archie Campbell says all he needs is land for it.
“We need that in Milford," Campbell says. "The problem I have is, where do I put it?”
Campbell says right now, there are around 50 people experiencing homelessness in Milford.
Georgetown Mayor Bill West says the American Rescue Plan funding that was supposed to help build the village has finally come through, and will now be used to build a community center for village residents.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the shovels in the ground and seeing it built because to see people go from that to an inside building and to call this place home, that’s what it’s about," West says. "And they’ve made a garden, they’ve got vegetables growing, and they all help and they put the mulch down. These people are coming to the front.”
Several other elected officials, including Delaware’s Congressional delegation, were in attendance.
Sen. Chris Coons says as a member of the Appropriations Committee, he will continue to look for federal funds to direct to Delaware for projects like this but notes the support services are what will make the village successful.
