Two Code Purple shelters begin winter service in Dover

By Glenn Rolfe
Posted 12/1/21

DOVER — Code Purple Kent County ushered in its 2021-22 overnight program Wednesday, armed with a sufficient volunteer core and precautionary coronavirus testing.

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Two Code Purple shelters begin winter service in Dover

Posted

DOVER — Code Purple Kent County ushered in its 2021-22 overnight program Wednesday, armed with a sufficient volunteer core and precautionary coronavirus testing.

The two shelter sites are People’s Community Center, 46 S. Bradford St., Dover (designated for men), and 1207 E. Division St., Dover, for women and children, according to Code Purple Kent County director Ennio Emmanuel.

Kent County locations will run nightly up to April 1.

“If it is colder, then we will go longer. Usually, the cutoff is April 1,” Mr. Emmanuel said.
Intakes will start around 5:30 p.m. at both sites, with morning checkouts at 8:30.

COVID-19 testing is part of the entry process. Staff and volunteers will also be tested.

“We are doing testing. You have to get COVID tested,” said Mr. Emmanuel. “We have doctors and nurses that will do it on-site for intake. We do ask that everyone gets tested once a week, … staff, volunteers and the guests. We will do the test. In partnership with the state, they have tests they send to the congregate shelters.”

Neighboring Code Purple Sussex County also launched its season Wednesday, but it is facing a severe shortage of overnight volunteers for its six shelters.

Kent County, at present, has enough staff to meet needs for its two buildings, Mr. Emmanuel said.

“We do have great volunteers. We have a good set of volunteers that show up every year,” he said. “We do find that, right now, because of COVID and, I think, the stigma around homelessness, there are not a lot of (volunteers) showing up as much as they used to — for overnight or intake.

“People are showing up for feeding, gifts, … but when it comes to those long hours and being one-on-one with this population, I do find that people are a little hesitant.”

For Kent County, though, fewer is better.

“For us, we used to have four or five sites, as well. We just found that, in this new environment, that was not going to be a viable thing for us to do. Like, if you don’t have volunteers, you can’t open. It creates a problem,” said Mr. Emmanuel.

“For us, going down to just two sites and trying (to) maximize those two sites as much as possible was better for us. Working at the two sites, we can kind of meet the need. Not that we don’t find that, sometimes, there is more need than what we have room for, and that’s when we have to use hotel vouchers or try our best to maybe locate families that will take in some of these people.”

In general, Mr. Emmanuel said many volunteers come from homelessness backgrounds.

“Overall, a lot of the volunteers that I work with now are people who are doing better, that used to be homeless. Some of them are people who have recovered out of homelessness. It’s just part of what they do to survive,” said Mr. Emmanuel.

Code Purple’s mission is to help those suffering from homelessness, abuse, financial struggles, drug addiction and/or because of the pandemic. It offers education, housing solutions, resources, counseling and guidance.

Besides overnight refuge from the elements, the agency provides connections, including for those battling addiction.

“We work with many different rehabilitation and recovery centers. So we are giving them a good spectrum of care, so that they are with us at night at Code Purple, but, at the same time, there is some connection with someone … somewhere they are going to go in the daytime,” Mr. Emmanuel said.

Meanwhile, Code Purple Kent County is seeking to purchase church property on East Division Street to expand its operations.

“We are in the process of applying for grants and working with the city and the state. We’re looking to build a shelter with an outpatient program for people who are recovering from addiction and (to) kind of mend those two together,” the director said.

Code Purple Kent County recently purchased the property at 1203 E. Division St. “It is going to be like a rescue home for women and children. We’re trying to make a campus of it,” Mr. Emmanuel said.

COVID protocol

In the event a homeless guest tests positive for COVID-19, Code Purple Kent County is starting the season with approximately $30,000 in funding for hotel rooms that could be utilized for 14-day quarantines, Mr. Emmanuel said.

“That is our plan, that we are prepared for 30 people right now in quarantine,” he added. “If we go above those that we have money for, we’d partner with (the Division of Public Health) or Delaware State Housing Authority to see if there are extra emergency funds. Also, there are funds that we are currently applying for that are still pending.

“You just can’t leave people out in the cold.”

Information

For more information or to inquire about volunteer opportunities, visit here or the Code Purple Kent County Facebook page. Call 800-733-6816 or email codepurpledelaware@gmail.com.

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