The Brightside: Navy Week brings helping hands to Sussex County

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. — Last week marked Sussex County’s first Navy Week, giving sailors an opportunity to connect with the community and support affordable housing efforts by helping build homes with Habitat for Humanity. WMDT has more in the latest edition of The Brightside, sponsored by Choptank Electric Cooperative.

Navy Week brought service members to Sussex County for more than a visit. For the first time, sailors partnered with Habitat for Humanity in Sussex County, contributing their time and effort to a project aimed at helping local families.

Kevin Gilmore, CEO of Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, said the volunteers have helped accelerate construction.

“This week, we’re celebrating veterans and service members, so we’ve had groups come out every day and will continue for the rest of the week,” Gilmore said. “It’s definitely accelerated the construction process.”

With Navy sailors and employees from Trinity Logistics on-site, the partnerships mean more hands on the job and another opportunity to advance Habitat for Humanity’s mission of providing affordable housing.

Gilmore said the need for affordable housing extends well beyond Sussex County.

“We’re in the middle of an affordable housing crisis, not just here in Sussex County, but throughout Delmarva and the United States,” Gilmore said. “The fact that people are willing to come together and make a difference — that volunteers are willing to come out and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do something about this’ — Habitat is an avenue for them to do that.”

The group is working on a project that will bring nine homes to Milford, contributing to the nonprofit’s broader goal of building 212 affordable homes in Sussex County.

Gilmore said the additional volunteers have helped move construction forward, with the homes nearing completion.

“They’re doing a lot of trim work and installing the kitchen cabinets and that kind of thing, and we’re very close to the end,” Gilmore said. “The end is really the joyous part, where we get to sell the house and make it affordable to a future homebuyer, who’s going to have the opportunity to obtain a house at a reasonable price.”

As the homes move closer to completion and future homebuyers prepare for new beginnings, the sailors will soon set sail for their next mission.