Why Should Delaware Care?
Spotlight Delaware’s Breaking Bread Tour, launched this year, gives residents a chance to speak directly about issues affecting their communities. By bringing neighbors together around the same table, the discussion is meant to allow residents to highlight concerns that might not always appear in local government meetings or policy debates.
As nearly 20 residents dined on spaghetti and meatballs inside a Georgetown community center Monday night, a variety of topics fueled conversations across three tables of attendees.
Some of those topics included affordable housing, how independent libraries are funded, and improving literacy in western Sussex County. Residents also discussed the town’s growing homeless population.
Spotlight Delaware held its second “Breaking Bread” event at the First State Community Action Agency in Georgetown, tucked in the northwest corner of town, about half a mile from a burgeoning homeless encampment.
At Monday night’s dinner, some residents discussed both reading and financial literacy in western Sussex County. One resident said she believes many children in the county leave school without proper life skills like knowing how to budget or write a check.
Separately, that conversation also covered reading literacy and how some children leaving high school cannot read beyond a middle school level. This, one resident said, can lead them to trouble financially when it comes to signing contracts or taking out loans that begin to compound.
At another table, residents discussed the county’s libraries, and how their funding structure can often leave them cash-strapped. In Sussex County, many of the libraries are independent and receive far less funding than their government-run counterparts. This means every year is a struggle to fundraise and keep the doors open.
Additionally, those residents discussed making Georgetown a destination and building a strong community feel within the Sussex County seat.
But right now, they said, opportunities are limited and beyond massive government structures, there is not much to do around Georgetown’s small downtown core. One resident said they were not sure how to address these concerns with the town government, or if elected officials would even have the appetite to take on large-scale enterprise projects.
Lastly, one table discussed affordable housing in the county, and how Georgetown could protect its immigrant community in the wake of a federal crackdown.
One attendee — political candidate for Sussex County Council, Jill Hicks — pointed to affordable housing as one of her table’s main discussion points. She said she believes the county should do more to incentivize builders to build affordable units.
County Council is touting affordable housing as an issue but not doing enough to make changes, she said.
“Step up and treat it like a crisis,” Hicks said.
The Breaking Bread series will next move to Dover, where residents of Kent County will be invited to share a meal and discuss local issues – stay tuned for date and location information.
