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Hope Center presentation highlights HUD support, local staffing and outreach as council hears program data
Summary
At a Jan. 27 New Castle County Community Service Committee meeting, staff described Hope Center operations, permanent supportive housing units and grant funding — including a $122,118 HUD award for eight PSH units — and answered council questions on pets, property management and outreach to encampments.
The New Castle County Community Service Committee on Jan. 27 heard a detailed presentation on the Hope Center's operations, funding and housing outcomes, including a reading of a HUD grant covering $122,118 for eight permanent supportive housing (PSH) units.
Nicole Waters, managing director of New Castle County Department of Community Services, said the Hope Center operates emergency shelter services, permanent supportive housing, veteran services and the state's first medical respite program. Waters said the center has achieved roughly 796 household positive departures, has served 2,158 households and 6,910 people overall, and that about 46 percent of those served are children. "Our placement rate is about 37 percent," Waters said, citing a HUD-reported national average of about 33.8 percent in 2024.
Waters described operational details and revenue sources: the center receives about $2.3 million annually in room rental revenue; nightly referral fees range from about $50 to $90 depending on the referring agency; and on-site services include case management, food, transportation and security. She said the county uses a mix of private funding, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and HOME-ARP dollars to meet a 25 percent match requirement (about $30,000) associated with one federal grant program.
On units and partnerships, Waters said New Castle County operates eight county-owned PSH units on-site, two PSH units placed through Connexia (formerly Connections) and 10 VASH units supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and HUD. Fairville Property Management was identified as the property manager that handles leases and rent collection for the units on behalf of the county.
Waters also summarized recent outreach and smaller grants: the Shelter Connect outreach program will visit tent encampments to refer people to the Hope Center; the county received $73,000 from Home for Good and $66,000 from a judgment-satisfaction program to support that outreach.
Council members asked operational questions. Councilman Jay Street praised staff work but sounded an urgent note about visible encampments, saying many people "can't sleep in a tent" in near-freezing temperatures and asserting that people had been sent here from other jurisdictions, "including Philadelphia." Chair Penrose Hollins and staff emphasized jurisdictional limits while noting the county's past use of CARES funding and other local initiatives to expand housing pathways.
The meeting included remarks from the Hope Center Foundation. Rich Pizzara, introduced as the foundation board president, said he is rebuilding the nonprofit's fundraising arm so it can pursue private grants and advocacy that county government cannot.
In public comment, Dr. Nikisha Williams Bailey, who identified herself as a founding board member of the New Castle County Hope Center, called the program "transformational housing," said the center averages about 300 residents a night with roughly half children, and urged replication of the model in other counties.
No committee vote was recorded on the HUD resolution during the session; the chair acknowledged the presentation and the committee moved on to other business and then adjourned.
