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Hope Center presentation: county officials review permanent supportive housing units, partnerships and funding
Summary
New Castle County staff presented Hope Center operations, partners and funding streams, noting eight county PSH units supported by HUD funding and a $122,118 HUD allocation for containment-of-care; the committee heard praise from a founding board member and asked questions on property management and pet policies.
Nicole Waters, Managing Director for Community Services, told the New Castle County Community Service Committee on Jan. 27 that the Hope Center provides emergency shelter, the state's first medical respite, veteran services and permanent supportive housing (PSH) units and partners with multiple agencies to place people into housing.
Waters reported the Hope Center had served 2,158 households and 6,910 persons to date, with 46% of those persons children, and cited a household positive-departure figure of 796 and an overall placement success rate of about 37% (compared with a 2024 HUD national average of roughly 33.8%). She told the committee the county has eight on-site PSH units funded through CoC grants, two PSH slots operated through Connexia (formerly Connections), and 10 VASH units supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and HUD.
On funding, Waters said the County currently receives $122,118 in containment-of-care funding to support the eight PSH units and that the grant carries a 25% match requirement (approximately $30,000) covered by a mix of private funds and federal programs including CDBG, ESG and HOME-ARP. She said the Hope Center's nightly fees range from about $50 to $90 and that the county receives roughly $2.3 million annually in room-rental revenue. Waters also described referral-based access (no walk-ins) and named major partners, including ChristianaCare, the Delaware State Service Centers and the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
Council members asked clarifying questions. Waters said Fairville (a property-management company) handles rent and leasing functions for PSH units on-site while facility staff coordinate unit maintenance. She confirmed that pets are accepted when a pet-friendly room is available and that the county sometimes uses CDBG funds to pay Faithful Friends for on-site pet care.
Rich Pizarro, board chair of the Hope Center Foundation, said the foundation has been revived as a 501(c)(3) to pursue fundraising and advocacy that government cannot, with the goal of expanding board membership and fundraising capacity.
During the public-comment period, Dr. Nakisha Williams Bailey, a founding Hope Center board member, called the Hope Center "transformational housing" and said for the record that the center averages about 300 residents each night, half of them children. The transcript records both Waters’ larger cumulative service figures (2,158 households; 6,910 persons) and Dr. Bailey’s comment about nightly census. The committee did not record a formal vote on the Hope Center appropriations during this meeting.
The committee moved on to other agenda business and later adjourned.
