This winter we have seen some very cold days. With the increases in the cost of living and a lack of affordable
housing, we have also seen more people experiencing homelessness. As you can imagine, this does not make for a great combination. With there already being limited places for people experiencing homelessness to go on any given night in Delaware, there are limited resources available to them on a cold night. This is a gap in our community which Friendship House fills.
Friendship House provides Code Purple services in New Castle County. We enact this emergency service when it feels like the temperature is 20 degrees or colder. We partner with local faith communities to house those without shelter overnight. Volunteers assist our overnight staff in welcoming 100 people on a given night by providing and serving dinner, helping to manage and clean up the space, and washing cots and blankets the next day.
For the past 5 years, we have averaged about 15-20 Code Purples during the winter season. As of the end of January, we have successfully provided 44 Code Purples. This season has been particularly cold with evening temperatures dropping to single or negative numbers many nights.
Temperatures this cold are life-threatening to someone sleeping outside. Extreme cold can have long-lasting effects on individuals. It can lead to hypothermia or frostbite. It can also make a person more susceptible to illness or make it difficult for them to recover from a pre-existing ailment.
Thank you to our community for the support to allow us to provide this life-saving, life-changing service. Thank you to our partnering faith communities who have rotated hosting Code Purples: First & Central Presbyterian Church, Calvary Baptist Church, New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark United Methodist Church, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew.
Click here to read this article from the Delaware News Journal about FH and Code Purple’s impact.