Why Should Delaware Care?
In recent years, the unhoused community in Wilmington has grown in size. In response, Mayor John Carney introduced a short-term plan to convert an Eastside park into the only city-sanctioned encampment. But in recent weeks, pushback to city mandates has sparked protests.
Wilmington’s plans to move Christina Park’s unhoused residents into city-issued tents were set back for a second time within a week as protests again disrupted the rollout.
After converging on the park Wednesday, protesters called on city officials to use safer materials for pallets on which tents are placed. They also urged the city not to force residents to stay in the government-provided tents, particularly after some were inundated with water and began to collapse after a storm last week.
But city officials told Spotlight Delaware that there have been no major changes to their plans, and said their initiative to move residents out of their own tents will continue.
“We will maintain safety and order in the park while working with our partners to identify a more permanent solution,” Caroline Klinger, spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said in a statement to Spotlight Delaware.
Still, on one apparent conciliatory note, the officials on Wednesday brought in tarps and a different model of tents, which were larger and appeared to be more durable than the ones the city set up last week.
For residents, the city’s mandate that they move out of their own tents and into city-issued ones has not been well planned. Many noted that last week’s storm soaked their clothes and belongings in those new tents. Two also pointed to an empty pallet where a tent once stood. They said it blew away overnight during the storm.
“I’ve been scared to stay in it,” said park resident Tiffany Lawler, referring to her city-issued tent. Instead, Lawler said she has been staying in a friend’s private tent.
The competing visions for the unhoused community at Christina Park have led to days of tensions. During the late morning on Wednesday, protesters began a demonstration by standing on the wooden pallets that workers were planning to move into the encampment.
They argued the pallets posed a safety risk to residents, citing, among other things, sharp edges that could tear tents.
“Pallets have to go as well. It’s not our fault that they can’t buy the right stuff,” Joe Connor, a resident who joined the protest, said.
Throughout the protest, which lasted a few hours, police maintained a heavy presence, with more than half a dozen officers on site, as well as a police wagon.
By the early afternoon, Wilmington Police Major Anthony Bowers reached an agreement with demonstrators to halt their protest in exchange for the city ending their pallet installations for the day. The agreement echoed a similar one struck the previous week when a police officer convinced protesters then to stand down.
Throughout the rest of the day, employees of the social services organization, Friendship House, worked with volunteers to replace many of the city’s original tents with new ones.
“We’ll put some tents down for the people who don’t have the tents, with the pallets already there. And then we’ll regroup with public works, and we’ll talk about it,” Bowers said to protesters.
In response to concerns about the pallets, Klinger said repairs can be made by the organization that constructed them. She further stated that tents on pallets is a preferable setup to them being placed directly on the ground.
“As soon as city employees can safely get the pallets unstacked without disruption, the community organization who made them can come out and address any necessary repairs,” Kilinger said.
Wilmington spent more than $50,000 for the construction of the wooden pallets and the labor to set them up. The city spent $4,000 for the initial 105 tents, and then another $4,000 for the additional 28 durable tents.
City officials revamp tent city
Last week, housing advocates and University of Delaware students first protested the city’s plan to revamp part of Christina Park into a grid system by placing residents and the uniform, city-provided tents into designated squares.
Officials from Mayor John Carney’s office said then that the decision was made out of concern for the park’s appearance, as well as to make it easier for paramedic crews to respond to emergencies in the community.
Prior to the setup of the first set of tents, residents were told to collect their belongings and keep them inside the new tents. Only one bike and a chair would be allowed outside, according to the city’s rules.
Previously, residents of the encampment had chosen their own spaces, spreading throughout the park with tents, sofas, generators, and grills.
Last week Carney’s chief of staff, Cerron Cade, told Spotlight Delaware that those who refuse to move to city-provided tents would have to leave the encampment entirely.
“We have to have some rules. And if folks don’t want to follow the rules, there’s no doors to the park. They can leave,” Cade said.
Thus far, residents at the park are split on how they feel about the city’s plans. Many residents are still living on the opposite side of the city’s grid in their own tents. And some individuals have multiple tents, one for sleeping and others to keep food and personal belongings.
“I always go back to ‘what if your family was out here in one of those and it collapsed, or it folded?’” said one resident, Ron “Philly” Simmons, who has acted as a de-facto leader of the community during its first few months as a city-sanctioned encampment.
“You want me to give up five tents to move into that? Over my dead body,” he said.
Another resident told Spotlight Delaware that while he accepted a city-issued tent, he agreed with protesters and has quietly continued living in his original tent in opposition to the city’s plan.
“Now that’s the tent they gave me. That’s compliance. That’s the tent I live in. That’s resilience. But you know what? No one’s saying anything to me,” said the resident, who only provided his first name as Greg.
But other residents say they are grateful for the city’s help in providing new tents to stay in.
One resident, Carl, who had been staying at the Sunday Breakfast Mission, said he came to the park after hearing the city was distributing tents. He said having his own tent gives him a sense of personal space and allows him to avoid the shelter’s religious requirements and conflicts with other residents.
Lawler told Spotlight that she’s hopeful the new tents will hold up better and said she’s still in support of the city’s initiative. She only hopes that officials don’t force people who do not want to stay in the tents to be able to stay where they are.
“They got their grid right here, leave them alone,” she said.
