In her recent letter to the editor, Sara Ford highlighted that it truly takes a village to support our homeless neighbors in need. While the Community Resource Center is not an overnight shelter, our Day Center program supports the area’s homeless community and serves as a networking partner with cold-weather overnight shelters.
The program can serve up to 15 individuals and is open from 8 a.m. through Noon daily. We also open on the weekend during code purple conditions. The purpose of the Day Center is to provide shelter, showers, access to laundry and food throughout the winter to clients experiencing homelessness.
Participants in our Day Center program receive breakfast and lunch each day. The Day Center is far more than just a place to seek respite from the inclement weather. A variety of support services are available to both men and women and focus on three primary areas: counseling, employment development, and mental and physical well-being.
Additional structured programs connect clients to resume-building and job opportunities through our Job Center, help enhance life skills, offer information about community events and emergency resources, and create opportunities for achieving self-sufficiency.
The Community Resource Center hosts other community partners that can provide additional supportive services to our homeless neighbors. This past week, we hosted the Division of Health and Social Services that met with participants in the Day Center program to provide them with free phones from Assurance Wireless Services. CRC also partners with Connections in conjunction with their Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, and with Brandywine Counseling COPE Mobile Health for behavioral health services for individuals with mental illness and addictions. The Day Center is housed in the Community Resource Center and is staffed by a Day Center coordinator and additional program assistants who provide specialized support to the clients.
The Day Center program is one of the many programs available at the CRC to help low-income individuals and families in need.
In 2019, the CRC provided over $250,000 in financial assistance to keep families in their homes by preventing eviction and utility disconnection; helped over 125 children each month by providing them with diapers, food, clothing and books; and prevented hunger by giving away 2,000 bags of groceries each month.
If you need assistance, please contact the Community Resource Center at 302-227-1340.
For more information, go to www.rehobothcommunitycenter.org.
Jo Allegro-Smith
director, Community Resource Center
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