After a difficult winter, residents at Wilmington’s city-sanctioned unhoused community site are on track to get mobile hygiene stations installed.
Wilmington Mayor John Carney established Christina Park as an unhoused community site in October 2025 and has since partnered with Friendship House, a local nonprofit, to manage the location.
It currently has mobile restrooms installed, and Carney included funds in his proposed budget last week to station mobile showers and washers at the park as well.
Friendship House CEO Kim Eppehimer said it’s vital to give people the resources to have good hygiene.
“There's just that sense of being able to provide a level of dignity for people where they can feel and act [with] a level of normalcy in our society,” Eppehimer said. “It is easier to move around in our society when you can meet the basic rules that are expected of you.”
Eppehimer says providing showers will give Christina Park residents more control over their lives and presentation.
The Mayor’s team is working with Friendship House and 1 in 7B Foundation, another nonprofit, to install mobile hygiene services. These kinds of services typically run from April to November.
Friendship House has previously worked with 1 in 7B, Eppehimer said.
“They have been working in the past at Christina Park, and we are planning on working with them directly to have their shower services on site,” Eppehimer said. “They are not in a position where they can winterize their trailer, so it closes during the winter, but they're either back or going to be back soon.”
Carney emphasized his persisting commitment to providing resources to Wilmington’s unhoused community at his budget address.
“We've worked hard to find compassionate, practical solutions that acknowledge difficult realities,” Carney said last week. “And we have worked with members of Council on this problem, too. By working with community partners, marshaling the social service resources of the state and seeking input from the community, we're doing our best to meet the needs of the unhoused.”
This winter was especially difficult for unhoused Wilmingtonians, Eppehimer said. While the city opened the Hicks Anderson Community Center to residents during the storms, many unhoused people were still out in the elements before and after the two major storms this winter.
Christina Park closed to unhoused residents after January’s winter storm, when temperatures remained extremely cold. Police officers monitored the park to ensure no one was staying there as freezing temperatures persisted.
Eppehimer added New Castle County’s three Code Purple shelters were filled to the brim, housing at least 250 unique individuals this season.
“It was really muddy, very wet, very gross at the park, and people had a hard time transitioning back to that space,” Eppehimer said. “So people were further displaced. Since the storms, people have started to come back and sort of get their footing again. And many have procured new or used tents.”
Now that it’s a bit warmer, Eppehimer said Christina Park residents are rebuilding their space.
Friendship House, the City of Wilmington and 1 in 7B Foundation are working together to install mobile hygiene stations by April, which will offer residents showers and laundry services.
