And, yes, it differs greatly from what John Carney and Claire DeMatteis have schemed out. Here is the press release in its entirety:
Housing Advocates Share Their Own Recommendations for Addressing Homelessness
WILMINGTON, DE September, 2025 — On Tuesday September 30th several homelessness advocates, including Housing Alliance Delaware, Friendship House, H.O.M.E.S. Campaign, Delaware Poor People’s Campaign, Tide Shift Justice Project, Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrews and Matthew, Stop the Sweeps Mutual Aid Organization, Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and members of Wilmington City Council share recommendations to the Mayor and Wilmington City Council on how to address homelessness in the city.
The federal government has shifted to using a punitive approach to address homelessness. A 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision allows cities and states to arrest people for sleeping outside, even when there are no safe alternatives. In July, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop following the “Housing First” model, and authorized the involuntary institutionalization of people living outside. Additionally, in a recent Spotlight Delaware article, Mayor Carney announced his intentions to ban encampments in certain areas of the city.
Unfortunately, Delaware does not have enough shelter beds or housing resources for everyone. According to a 2024 Centralized Intake Report from the Housing Alliance Delaware, even though more than 7,100 households needed homelessness assistance, only 952 got referrals to homeless assistance resources.
The Wilmington Homelessness Task Force recently released their recommendations on how to deal with homelessness in the city. While they address issues such as trash pick up and bathrooms, they do not direct the city to use its own resources to expand shelter access. Advocates are calling for a different approach.
Coby Owens, 1st District Councilmember & Wilmington Homelessness Task Force member: “We have to rebuild the community’s trust in knowing that the city cares about all of us— regardless of our housing status. Too many families are experiencing homelessness. Rents are high, mortgages are out of reach. It’s the responsibility of the city government to dedicate city resources to this issue– not just lip service. I’m committed to doing that.”
Branden Fletcher-Dominguez, Co-Coordinator of H.O.M.E.S. Campaign: “There aren’t enough shelter beds for all the unhoused people in Wilmington. Punishing people for living outside is unfair and an ineffective way to deal with homelessness. We caution Mayor Carney and Wilmington City Council from adopting the Trump Administration’s approach of banning encampment and arresting people. Instead, Wilmington should put city funds and resources into housing people, working with service providers, and making the city more affordable to live in.”
Meryem Dede, Executive Director of the Tide Shift Justice Project: “The criminalization of people experiencing homelessness will only deepen the trap of poverty and incarceration— making it almost impossible to secure housing. Furthermore, the use of police in dealing with homelessness only serves to deepen the mistrust between unhoused people, service providers, and the police. We’re hoping the city will adopt these recommendations that will rebuild trust and prioritize pathways to housing that don’t criminalize people experiencing homelessness.”
Deianna Tyree-McDuffy, Director of Advocacy & Policy at the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence: “Domestic violence contributes to victims’ homelessness because abusive partners deliberately limit the victim’s economic stability by forcing victims to quit their jobs, refusing to provide childcare so that the victim can work or simply by taking the victims’ earnings. Victims might also have poor credit due to the abusive partner insisting on the use of credit and then not paying the credit card bills as a means of control.”
Rev. Patrick Burke, Rector The Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew and Matthew (SsAM): “As a faith leader, and specifically as a Christian Pastor, I see the report from a moral and ethical perspective. We face an important moment in our common life together, where we choose whether we take bold steps to forge a community built on love, mutuality and care for each other, or continue to double down on criminalizing those who are poor, those who are sick, and those who are marginalized. It is our choice and we charge our leaders to lead courageously so we can be the community that we want to be-one built on love and compassion.”
Housing Advocates’ Recommendations:
● Commit to not implementing criminalizing or discriminatory policies, practices, and laws against people experiencing homelessness, including but not limited to sweeps, encampment bans, unnecessary arrests, or fines.
● Ensure services provided are trauma informed, low-barrier, use a housing first model, and center on the person in need and be respectful. Individuals should have the right to decline services and still receive housing.
● Provide city funding, land, and other public resources to:
○ Increase the number of low barrier emergency beds and permanent supportive housing units to cover all unsheltered individuals.
○ Increase the number affordable housing units.
○ Establish more low-barrier and easily accessible day centers across the city, with trauma-informed staff.
○ Establish a city-based homelessness prevention program that includes: emergency rental assistance, security deposits, and first-month rent.
○ Require a 30% affordable housing set-aside for any housing development or renovation projects receiving any city funding, subsidies, or tax breaks.● Establish a city-run Homeless Services Office to coordinate services and programs:
○ Invest in a coordinated system of care at the City level where all resources are accessible to unhoused people.
○ Invest in low-barrier programs and shelters, alongside a continuous investment in existing and new housing programs, shelters, etc.
○ Use professionally-trained, trauma-informed outreach workers who will address people’s needs without threatening arrest, sweeps or fines.
○ Encourage outreach workers to meet unhoused people where they are.
○ Encourage organizations to share data across sectors through the existing Community Management Information System.
○ Provide oversight and technical support to ensure that all housing and shelters in the City of Wilmington adhere to Delaware Fair Housing Laws.
○ Develop a strategic plan to address housing stability in the city.
○ Provide financial support for people to get necessary documents to achieve housing (social security cards, birth certificate, ID).
○ Commit to supporting unhoused people in the City of Wilmington regardless of their place of origin.
○ Prioritize people experiencing homelessness in the City of Wilmington for WHAhousing vouchers or public housing units.● Prioritize public health through improved access to hygiene and sanitation:
○ Establish public restroom facilities and maintain 24/7 access and ongoing maintenance.
○ Increase access to showers.
○ Provide mobile health clinics that use harm-reduction practices.
○ Provide daily trash clean-up all areas in the city with high populations of unhoused individuals (that does not target personal belongings).For more information please contact:
Shyanne Miller
Delaware Working Families Power
smiller@workingfamilies.org
302-345-5182