New Castle County and Social Finance Announce Launch of Innovative Family HOPE Project to End Family Homelessness

This first-of-its-kind initiative will provide extended emergency shelter, direct rental assistance, and ongoing case-management to 120 local families.

Wilmington, DE and Boston, MA—Today, New Castle County and Social Finance announced the launch of the Family Housing Opportunities for Purposeful Empowerment (Family HOPE) Project, a new initiative designed to help end family homelessness in the county and create a replicable model for addressing this crisis statewide.

Across Delaware, hundreds of families face housing instability, causing them to turn to emergency shelters or other temporary situations. In the state’s 2025 Point-in-Time Count, families represented nearly one fifth of the population in homelessness and children under 18 accounted for the single largest age group.

The Family HOPE Project will serve up to 120 families experiencing homelessness through an integrated approach that extends beyond traditional emergency shelter services to provide long-term stability and pathways to self-sufficiency. The initiative is structured as a Pay for Success project, with the chance to unlock up to $9.6 million in federal outcomes payments through the Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA). New Castle County, one of only six jurisdictions nationwide selected in the latest round of SIPPRA funding, was awarded up to $11 million in December 2024, which will fund an independent evaluation of the project and, if outcomes are achieved, fund outcomes payments.

“This is a monumental achievement for our community as we work to end family homelessness,” New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry said. “When we purchased The Hope Center in 2020, our goal was addressing an immediate need to protect vulnerable members of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic as winter set in. But the long-term vision that the leadership within our Community Services division has built for this facility has made it a transformational tool that continues to improve the lives of hundreds of individuals and families every day. This SIPPRA funding opportunity is the next step in The Hope Center’s evolution, and I look forward to the transformational impact it will have on the lives of so many families in need.”

The Family HOPE Project will offer support through three integrated components:

1. Extended Emergency Shelter: Families will have up to 90 days at the Hope Center, Delaware’s largest emergency shelter. During this time, they will receive access to on-site healthcare, mental health counseling, employment services, and afterschool programming, while working with a dedicated case manager to develop a personalized housing stability plan.
2. Direct Rental Assistance: Upon securing permanent housing, families will receive 24 months of flexible rental assistance, calculated at 90% of fair market rent. Those unrestricted monthly payments can be used for rent, utilities, childcare, food, and healthcare—empowering families to prioritize their most urgent needs.
3. Ongoing Case Management and Financial Coaching: Each family will continue working with their case manager for two years after moving into permanent housing, receiving financial coaching to build budgeting skills and support long-term self-sufficiency.

“During a time of striking economic vulnerability for low-income families, the partners coming together to support the Family HOPE project are demonstrating exactly the kind of leadership we need: ambitious, cross-jurisdictional, and deeply focused on outcomes that really matter,” said Jake Segal, Managing Director of Impact Advisory at Social Finance.

The Family HOPE Project is made possible through the collaboration and support of numerous partners, including the Longwood Foundation, the Welfare Foundation, WSFS Bank, and the Laffey-McHugh Foundation. Service delivery is set to begin in late 2025, with the first cohort of 60 families enrolling at the Hope Center.

“Every man, woman and child deserves a roof over their heads and a place to feel safe and secure,” County Executive Marcus Henry said. “I’ve made it a focal point of my career in public service to address the affordable housing crisis in our community and I’m incredibly thankful for the hard work of our Community Services team and our partners in the Family HOPE Project and the Hope Center in securing this funding that will enable us to help hundreds of families find permanent housing.”

###

About Social Finance

Social Finance (SF Advisors, LLC) is a national nonprofit and Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisor. We work with the public, private, and social sectors to create partnerships and investments that measurably improve lives. Since our founding in 2011, we have mobilized more than $500 million in new investments designed to help people and communities realize improved outcomes in workforce and economic mobility, health, and housing. Learn more at socialfinance.org.