OCEAN CITY, Md. - Diakonia and Ocean City leaders celebrated a $250,000 funding commitment from Ocean City on Tuesday as the non-profit moves forward with plans for a new supportive living campus serving people in need.
The Ocean City Mayor and City Council unanimously approved the funding earlier this month. The money will support Diakonia’s more than $15 million capital campaign for the project, which will include a new resource center and expanded housing and support services.
Plans for the campus include single-, two-, and three-bedroom housing units, veteran outreach services, a thrift shop and other resources.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan says the recent nor’easter, which brought high winds and high floodwaters, highlighted the need for services for vulnerable residents.
For Ocean City neighbor Michael Tingle, the project addresses an issue he knows personally.
“It’s great, it’s a good thing. Really good,” Tingle says.
Tingle tells CoastTV that he has experienced homelessness and has lost friends who were living without shelter.
“Seems like we should have somewhere where there’s a big giant building to help out all the ones that are around, all the ones in the area,” Tingle says. “I’ve actually lost a couple friends from being homeless, where they froze to death, being homeless, being out in the cold.”
But some nearby business owners are waiting to see how the new facility will affect the surrounding area.
“I guess it’s gonna be a learning situation for us,” says Matt Rados, owner of Decatur Diner on Route 611, next to the planned campus.
Rados described the project as an exercise in trust and says he hopes people who use the facility receive sustained assistance.
“Probably just people coming in and staying for like a week or two and not getting the help that they need. That’s more concerning to us,” Rados says. “We’d rather it be long-term.”
The project comes as Ocean City remains involved in a lawsuit with St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church over zoning rules involving the church’s shelter.
The church’s pastor did not return a request for comment.
As Diakonia moves ahead with its new campus, supporters say it will provide another resource for people facing homelessness and other challenges, while some in the surrounding community are watching to see how the facility will operate once it opens.
