MILFORD, Del. -- After recently visiting the up and functioning pallet shelter village or "tiny homes" in Georgetown, Del., Milford Mayor Archie Campbell has considered making the idea a reality in Milford, where many in the homeless community are displaced and on the streets.
People living in an encampment known as "tent city" in Milford were forced to leave the area in January. Mayor Campbell says he believes that since then, many people have resorted to squatting in areas and buildings around Milford, and some sleep in their cars.
"We need to do something," says Campbell. "There's no easy choice there. It's all over the country. It's amazing what Georgetown did and I'm hoping the Town of Milford can equal that or better it, if we get there."
Campbell says he has assigned Vice Mayor Jason James to lead the project, however, the idea will need to be introduced and discussed amongst the city council and local community before a decision is made.
Most neighbors living and working in Milford agree that something needs to be done to help and support the homeless community, and while they don't necessarily oppose of the pallet shelter village, some people are raising concerns about where it will be located and how it will function.
David Pickrell and his wife Marcia Reed have owned and operated Gallery 37, Inc. in Downtown Milford for ten years. The couple agrees that a pallet shelter village would be helpful for those facing homelessness, but they raise concerns about having the village nearby and the impact it could have on their business and safety.
"I've had to call the police department on more than one occasion," says Pickrell. "We've had people urinating in our back property, so all that's going to do is increase those issues."
Georgetown Mayor Bill West, who has helped with the town's pallet shelter village since the beginning, says a village will only help and enrich those living in it and the community around it.
"We're showing them that it's working," says West. "If they want to come down here and go on a tour, I'll take them on a tour. Let them talk to these people and find out the stories. It's unbelievable the stories of these people. Not all of them are drug addicts. Not all of them are alcoholics. Some of them turned to that when they went to the woods. We're bringing them back to society now."
Mayor Campbell says if the project is approved, he does not want to fund it with taxpayer dollars. His goal is to utilize grants and other state funding.