Crisis House says state intake rule rescinded; local shelters to resume local referrals

Maria Evans, executive director of the Crisis House homeless shelter on Railroad Avenue in Georgetown, told the Town Council during public comment on March 17, 2025, that a state rule limiting local intake has been rescinded and that Crisis House will again take referrals from local nonprofits once formal waivers are received from state agencies.

Evans said the shelter had operated in Georgetown since 1981 and described the recent months as difficult after a one-sentence requirement in a DHSS ETH grant forced the shelter to accept clients only through the Housing Alliance of Delaware, which has headquarters in Wilmington and no local presence in Sussex County. "Since we did exclusive intake with them since August, we've been sent people from places like Wilmington, Salisbury, Maryland, and Newark," Evans said, adding that local homeless people remained on Georgetown streets during that period.

Evans told council members she fought for six months through the legislature, Delaware Health and Social Services (DHSS) and the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) to remove the requirement. She said the rule is being rescinded and that the new DHSS contract will not include that intake restriction. "We are waiting to receive formal waivers from DHSS, and as soon as we get those in our hands, we can start working with the local community again," Evans said. She thanked Mayor Bill West and Tony Neil for support during the dispute.

Evans also described the impact on local staff and offered the council and the public an invitation to visit the Crisis House. No formal council action on the state contract language occurred during the March 17 meeting; the statements were recorded under public comment and describe a change at the state-agency level that Evans said will restore local referral pathways for shelters across the state.