Delaware’s first pallet village, similar to a tiny home village, will be built on an acre of land behind First State Community Action Agency in Georgetown.
The Springboard Collaborative, the nonprofit behind the village, announced the partnership this week. Not only will First State lease the land for the 44-shelter village, they will provide wraparound social services for its residents.
The Georgetown Town Council voted unanimously to allow Springboard to build and manage the village last year. First State’s lease covers the town-approved, two-year pilot and two additional two-year options.
Only fire and stormwater permits are still needed for the Kimmey Street site, according to Springboard co-founder Judson Malone, but no issues are anticipated.
Construction is expected to begin in the next few months, with the village planned to open this fall.
Why is the pallet village needed?
About 50 people are living “in conditions unfit for human habitation” in Georgetown, Malone said. There’s a significant homeless encampment in the woods off Douglas Street and multiple smaller encampments elsewhere.
The Delaware Continuum of Care conducts a point-in-time count of homeless individuals and families annually. In 2021, the count found homelessness increased 35% statewide, with Sussex having the highest increase out of the three counties at 128%.
The actual numbers were likely much higher. Due to the pandemic, only people living in shelters and hotels were counted, not those living in tents or outdoors.
PREVIOUS REPORTING:Homeless shelter village would offer solutions in Sussex
RELATED:Homelessness in Georgetown: What’s drawing people here and what’s being done to fix it
This year’s data has not yet been released.
The increase in homelessness is due to an affordable housing crisis, according to the Housing Alliance of Delaware, and a lack of rentals plays a big part.
“We saw people were not moving out of homelessness as quickly, specifically families,” Housing Alliance Policy Director Sarah Rhine said last year. “They would get stuck because of the lack of affordable housing. The pipeline to get out of the shelter or hotel voucher space wasn’t there.”
What will the village look like?
Georgetown’s pallet village will be located on Kimmey Street, next to Kimmey Park, railroad tracks, industrial buildings and lots and, of course, First State Community Action Agency.
The 64-square-foot shelters are designed by Pallet, an Everett, Washington, company named for how the shelters are shipped. Framed with aluminum, the panels are made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic with a foam-insulating core, according to the company’s website. They can be assembled in less than an hour and cost as low as $5,500.
GEORGETOWN:Sussex growth: How Georgetown will change with explosion of apartments, townhouses, houses
Georgetown’s shelters will all have raised beds, electricity and heat and air conditioning. Two 100-square-foot bathhouses will be located onsite, to be shared by residents. Site plans also include a welcome center, a community center and a retention pond.
The village will be fully fenced with a main entrance, an emergency vehicle entrance and an alarmed emergency exit.
MORE:What you need to know about polluted groundwater in downtown Georgetown, cleanup efforts
Staff will include a program manager, community engagement specialists, safety monitors, janitors and a shuttle bus driver.
