Carper, staff tour Morgan's Place shelter

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and his staff took a whirlwind tour of Delaware Aug. 7, including a late-afternoon stop at Morgan's Place, a recently opened emergency and transitional homeless shelter in Ellendale.

Under the auspices of nonprofit Philadelphia Town Homes, it's one of several outreach programs offered by Philadelphia Pentecostal Holiness Church.

Director Leah Foster Brown took the senator and his staff on a tour of the facility, which has started accepting clients in its transitional program. Foster said the 24-hour homeless shelter can house up to 25 people.

Carper and his staff asked Brown how the shelter was funded. She replied the church, through its outreach programs, provided start-up funding, and most of the construction work was done by the Rev. Major Foster, her 85-year-old father.

She said grants and donations will be needed to sustain the shelter. She said she was in the process of writing a grant that was due that week. Carper staff members said they would provide her with a letter of support from the senator.

“We hear all the time that businesses in Sussex County need workers who are trainable, can pass a drug test and be reliable. Can you provide them?” Carper asked.

“That's our ultimate goal, to teach skills and place people in jobs. We are taking a holistic approach with education and nutrition services to remove the barriers of homelessness,” Brown said.

Brown said transportation can be an issue, although there is a DART bus stop across the street from the shelter. “We want to get grants to purchase our own vans,” she said.

She said as part of the transitional program, 12 townhomes will be built for those leaving the shelter to rent. She said construction on six of the units on 40 acres of church property is expected to begin soon.

Once persons are interviewed and accepted into the program, a case manager assesses their needs. They live in free, transitional rooms for two months. Then they move to a weekly rental room for eight weeks and then to a two-bedroom apartment for up to two years to help reestablish credit; $50 will be set aside each month to assist clients when they move out.

Brown said assistance will be provided at every level in the program with a goal of eventually moving to one of the new townhomes.

She said those entering the shelter must be from Sussex County; no sex offenders are permitted.

For more information, phone 503-7316. The shelter is located at 18527 Pentecostal St., Ellendale.