New Castle County is helping out in Sussex County, providing federal CARES Act money to retrofit an old state police barracks into a homeless shelter.
New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer (D) announced the county will provide $50,000 in CARES Act money to support completion and opening of the Code Purple homeless shelter at the former Delaware State Police Troop 7 in Lewes.
House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach) represents the area and requested the money from Meyer.
Susan Kent is the Executive Director of Love, Inc., the Christian-based agency that runs Code Purple Sussex County and is operating the new shelter. She explains how the money will be used.
"We are buying PPE and refrigerators, and food and supplies, and then as he (Schwarzkopf) alluded too there's some construction work that needs to just be done around the site as well. We want to get some new equipment just for extra layer of protection right now we're at low numbers, when we get high numbers we want to have different cots."
The cots will have tents on them to help with social distancing.
Kent explains the money will also be used to help those homeless who can’t use the shelter when it’s full.
"Let's say we have someone show up here it's 32 degrees we're full they obviously need somewhere to go, so being able to have the ability to get someone into a hotel or another setting."
Kent notes the money will also help pay overnight staff that keep the shelter open.
