Code Purple at the Cape provides wintertime shelter to homeless people in the cape region of Delaware, including Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey Beach and Milton.
Its site director Mike Agnew says they aim to serve between 40 and 50 unsheltered people this weekend with state support.
“Here in the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach area, our Code Purple and the Cape program will be able to get everyone into hotels for the weekend, including our volunteers, that won’t need to come out this weekend once the snow begins." he said. “We’re going to keep our shelters open, but for people that we’ve already identified who are guests in our shelter, we’re going to put them up in hotels- we’ll keep the shelters for people we haven’t yet identified.”
Judd Malone of Springboard Delaware says they hope to help at least 35, with additional capacity possible with reimbursement money from the state- as well as donations from community members and town officials.
"Mayor Bill West has donated at least 250 frozen meals, a tremendous amount of blankets donated by the community. We're still accepting any kind of food, if folks have something to give" he told DPM. "It's been a team effort."
The forecast calls for 8-10 inches of snow, along with plummeting temperatures. Wind chills are expected to reach five below zero, conditions where hypothermia and frostbite can occur in as quickly as 30 minutes for those with exposed skin.
The Delaware State Housing Authority told DPM it is working with service providers and state agencies to make sure everyone is safe during this storm, but declined to say how much funding it’s providing to the effort.
Warming centers are also being opened in all three counties by the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services.
