DOVER, DE- As temperatures drop, Delaware's homeless have a new place to turn. Code Purple opened its doors on Monday, December 1, providing warmth and safety for neighbors experiencing homelessness during the cold winter months.
Code Purple is an annual winter emergency shelter program that provides overnight housing, meals, transportation, and support services to people experiencing homelessness.
At Code Purple at The Cape, neighbors in need will have a safe place to sleep for the next 105 days, along with access to essential services.
The Cape location operates two separate shelters: a men's shelter at Saint Jude's and a women's shelter at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Rehoboth Beach, each with 14 beds.
Gene Trainor, a shelter volunteer at The Cape, says the program offers relief by getting neighbors to safety during dangerously cold temperatures.
"The whole hope here is to get them indoors, where I mean, we're providing some level of dignity where they can come in, they can relax, get warm, get a hot meal."
Trainor added that the shelter, run entirely by volunteers, is more than just a place to sleep—it's a community effort to support those in need.
"They know that between the bus driver and the intake assistant and the overnight host, they all are going to look after them, making sure they have any needs that they have, if we can meet them."
Mike Agnew, director of Code Purple at The Cape, said demand for emergency shelter is high, with many beds already filled.
"At the moment, our men's shelters are full. Our women's shelter is beginning to fill up. So we are actually looking for a third shelter for the men."
Agnew said that shelter demand rises every year and anticipates another busy season.
"In the winter of 2023-2024, between our two shelters, the men's and the women's shelter, we averaged 22 guests. Last year, in the men's shelter, we had to expand beyond the 14 with permission from the state fire marshal, and our average went to 33. So we saw a 50% year-over-year increase in the number of homeless people seeking shelter during the wintertime at our two Code Purple shelters. I believe that will happen again this year."
On December 1, Tharros Village, a nearby tent camp for unsheltered neighbors in Sussex County, closed its doors. Agnew said the closure will push even more people to seek shelter at the Code Purple locations.
"All those tents are coming down today, and all of the guests that stayed in the village are invited to come here to our purple shelters beginning tonight."
In Kent County, Code Purple is preparing to open two locations tonight. Women will stay at 1207 East Division Street in Dover, while men will be at 46 South Bradford Street.
Maribel Garcia-Zaragoza, president of Kent County Code Purple, says the goal is to provide immediate help.
"There's a lot of, you know, hindrances and stumbling stones that people have to go through to get some help. So we bring those down as an emergency entry. We just tell them, you come in, and we help you."
Garcia-Zaragoza says the program is essential for protecting and helping neighbors in need.
"We're taking people out of the danger of the cold weather, the environment, diseases and all the things that they can confront if they don't have the help."
She also emphasized the importance of community support, saying donations are needed to help Code Purple continue supporting neighbors in need throughout the winter.
"We need all the help that we can get and also donations throughout the whole season because we need donations of food, things that they can warm up, things that they can take with them, rain ponchos, all those things, even personal hygiene items that we provide for them."
Officials say anyone interested in volunteering or needing support can find more information on the Code Purple websites or by calling the shelters.