GEORGETOWN, Del. – More than 30 pallet shelter homes stood behind First State Community Action Agency in Georgetown on Wednesday, as volunteers and project organizers worked to install fire alarms and heating and air systems inside the homes.
The site will eventually house 40, 64-sq-ft. pallet shelters, along with communal bathrooms, a warming kitchen, and a village community center.
Judson Malone, project director and executive director of The Springboard Collaborative, welcomed volunteers to the site to help build the homes after materials were delivered on Oct. 17. Volunteers from organizations such as Healthy Communities Delaware, Nickle Electric, Schell Brothers, and members of the Association of Builders and Contractors, in addition to Georgetown residents and Mayor Bill West, helped to erect the shelters and fund the project.
"If the community can chip in and help out, and help provide that shelter, then it's kind of imperative for those that are capable of doing that to play a role in that solution,” says Preston Schell, who works with Schell Brothers.
Many volunteers expressed that they were passionate about helping the homeless community in Georgetown.
"We need to do something to help these people out,” says Dennis Winzenried, a Georgetown resident of seven years. “Give them a hand up, not a hand out, but a hand up."
Malone says the village is still on track to be complete and open by November. After the shelters are completed, the next step is to run electricity, water, and sewage into each one.