LEWES, Del. - The tents that previously sat in the lot of the Troop 7 property, which was demolished over the summer, have been cleared out.
The old Troop 7 was torn down in June. Before it was demolished, the building served as a Code Purple homeless shelter. Mike Agnew, site director for Code Purple at the Cape, says the encampment is called Tharros, which is the Greek word that means courage.
The small village consisted of 28 single person tents to accommodate 14 women and 14 men.
"We had a successful 45 day pilot," said Agnew.
For 45 days, this site was run as an experiment of sorts for people with nowhere else to go. Now, with the help of people like Agnew, those same people are living in safe, warm shelters.
Now that they are indoors, there are stricter rules and requirements which include sobriety.
"All of our guests at Tharros have been vetted so we're aware of all of their backgrounds," Agnew explained. "We didn't have that issue and we don't have the issue right now in our shelter either,"
Those living on the lot had to sign a contract stating they understood that once 45 days were over, they would have to move into a shelter on Sunday, Dec. 1.
The men and women reside in separate shelters. The men are at St. Jude's The Apostle Church in Lewes. The women are living at The Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Rehoboth Beach.
This is temporary housing from Dec. 1 to March 15.
Agnew told CoastTV that many of these people work during the "tourist season" in the summer. During the winter, when they're not in the shelters, some are still at work during the day.
Due to the drop in temperatures on Delmarva, Tharros isn't a viable option for the unhoused right now, but the program could return at a later date and potentially with upgrades.
"We hope to put a fence around the property, potentially some asphalt so that we can get emergency vehicles easier into the camp, maybe some parking facilities to begin," Agnew shared.
Portable restrooms, showers and offices for case management is something that Agnew says is a dream for now, but he would love to see that dream come true in the future.
Tharros has big supporters, like Casella Waste Systems. Casella donated dumpsters to help clear out the lot once the 45 days were over. The 96-gallon trash cans are also being used at storage lockers for personal belongings.
Brian Kastor, Casella's market area manager, told CoastTV that Casella is in this service for the long haul.
"As long as they do that, we'll provide support for them," said Kastor.
Kastor also shared he wasn't aware of the homeless community in the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach area.
Agnew told CoastTV the dumpster and left over items placed near it will be picked up on Monday. According to Agnew, this experiment was a success. He hopes to work with the Meyer administration in the new year to continue this initiative.
Agnew says there are 10 volunteer positions each night at each shelter. That's 1,060 shifts over the entire season but Code Purple is always open to more volunteers.
He emphasized that Code Purple at the Cape isn't just providing people a place to stay; wrap-around services are being provided and the residents are meeting with case management to plan out the necessary steps to continue their journey out of homelessness.
If you are interested in volunteering, email codepurple@stjudelewes.org.