GEORGETOWN, Del. -- Construction on the site of Georgetown's soon to be pallet shelter village was well underway on Tuesday. Organizers say the village is on track to be open to the local homeless community by November, before winter, but the project's progress has not been without challenges.
Project director and executive director with The Springboard Collaborative Judd Malone has given a monthly presentation to the Georgetown Town Council with updates on the project since its start. On Monday, Oct. 10, during the most recent council meeting, Malone discussed a delay in the project due to a lack of state funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
"The way that this particular grant is set up, is that the state does not have final approval," Malone tells WBOC. "It has to be approved by the U.S. Treasury Department. They're going through one application at a time. They're understaffed, and they won't release any of them until they're done."
Malone says the project was able to move forward with a generous donation from a local community leader. However, as organizers continue to wait for the ARPA funds, they've run into other obstacles. During Monday's council meeting, Linda Dennis, a member of the Georgetown Planning Commission, emphasized a lack in healthcare and rehabilitation services for those who will be moving into the village.
"There are serious gaps in the services that these folks are going to need to succeed in the community," says Dennis. "What's as important as getting the physical site prepared, is talking to the State of Delaware about getting some service money in here, because the services are grossly inadequate for the folks that are going into this pallet program."
On Tuesday, Malone clarified that he and other organizers are working to build partnerships with local organizations like La Red Health Center and Beebe Healthcare to fill those gaps.
"There's no magic solution that you just pick up the phone and talk to somebody at the state and say give us more money and they say 'OK, how much do you need' and they send it," Malone says. "It's not that easy."
Still, Malone says the project has taken a lot of determination from many people in the Town of Georgetown, Sussex County, and the State of Delaware, and they will not give up until the pallet shelter village serves its purpose for the local homeless community.
"If this fails, we all fail," Georgetown Mayor Bill West tells WBOC. "And I'm not gonna let it fail."
Malone says the materials for the pallet shelters will be delivered to the site on Oct. 17. Organizers and volunteers will then work together to build the homes. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Judson Malone at (302) 864-5220.