Distorted guitars and the striking of drums coming out of a garage on Wilmington's Southside — flanked by an old, mint-green church to the left and the former TRU Colors Brewery to the right — was not only heard, but felt as the concrete shook Monday evening.
This was no ordinary punk show, said Adrian Gerth, the secretary of the Wilmington Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Instead, it was a benefit to support the Good Shepherd Center.
“They're the only full-time shelter that we have in the county…. if they get shut down, then these people really have nowhere to go,” Gerth said. While there are other smaller shelters, many focusing on specific demographics, Good Shepherd is the main provider of emergency shelter beds.
This fundraiser comes as city council prepares to vote on Councilmember Luke Waddell's anti-camping ordinance next week, which expands on existing restrictions and would ban sleeping on surface lots.
Gerth said he’s worried that if the ordinance passes that it may result in the overcriminalization of people who are already vulnerable.
“The main tool we see when it comes to fighting homelessness is the police,” Gerth said. “If you put them in jail, all you're doing is taking away the belongings they have… and then they're right back on the street in a worse situation, and nothing's been solved.”
Members of Emergency Nothing, a local band whose music concentrates on social issues, performed at the benefit concert. Lead singer Mike Rose agreed that this is a community issue that can’t be solved by policing alone.
“You can make a difference. You know, one person at a time, one dollar at a time, and that's what I think DSA is doing, and I think that's what we want to be a part of,” Rose said.
The ILM-DSA was able to raise over 800 dollars; some of those proceeds went to Emergency Nothing and two other local groups — ILM Ceasefire Choir and Chalice of Light — for their performances. The rest will be donated to Good Shepherd.
Gerth said he hopes people will come to the next City Council meeting to sound off their support for the unhoused community.
“Please come out for the September 9 city council meeting, if you feel the same way that I do about this ordinance,” Gerth said.