Dover group camping out to raise awareness for homelessness

On North State Street in Dover, Del. people are demonstrating by camping out, their message to raise awareness about the city’s homelessness problem. Their goal to show the community how most homeless people live and to show them their proposed solution, tiny homes.

Pastor Aaron Appling with Victory Church says his church and Port Hope believe they can could begin to fight homelessness in the capital of the first state with 15 tiny homes on the grounds of Victory church.

Each one of the 10 by 20 feet tiny homes would come with everything someone needs to live comfortably, a full bathroom in the back with a shower and storage space, a kitchen area, a living area and a bed that will pull right out of the kitchen floor.

“It’s just enough for a person to be secure and keep yourself clean and have some kind of peace of mind, you know it’s perfect,” said Melvin Sherwood, a homeless person who works at the local Goodwill and is camping out with Appling.

Appling says making that village a reality will require a lengthy process that includes creating a site plan, potentially partnering with others for funding and obtaining permission through levy court, the highest executive power in Kent County.

Although the court date isn’t set, Appling says part of the process will include a public hearing and they’re hoping to gain the public’s support ahead of time.

So he and his supporters, some with homes and some without, will be outside camping out until Saturday answering any questions people have and providing information.

There is a possibility however that the city will shut them down before the week is finished.

Officials with the group tell us there’s a chance the city might force them to vacate the public property since they are there without a permit.

Right now most of the demonstration is on public grounds, the rest of it is on the property of Gunn Wealth Management, owned by candidate for Lieutenant Governor, La Mar Gunn.

Gunn says they have his permission to be on his grounds and supports them staying there, however he’s not sure legally where they stand.

“I’ve explained to Pastor Appling and others that the city is not in support of this. I’m not a lawyer, they seem to think that they have the legal right to be here and I’m going to let the lawyers and the city and those folks figure that side of it out,” Gunn said.

Those with the demonstration say they have support from the ACLU that they are allowed to demonstrate on public grounds without a permit.