Little Living - How we got here!
My Story!
My inspiration started with Father Mychal's prayer:
Lord Tell me where You want me to go!
Have me meet who You want me to meet!
Tell me what You want me to say
Then get me out of Your way!
Father Mychal Judge OFM
Why Them and Not Me?
My journey I suffered a life-threatening illness in 2020, being completely dependent on others, for even the most basic of needs.
I asked Why me?
After major surgery that saved my life and while recuperating, Other I knew had died of cancer, why not me?
I started to cook twice a week for 4-5 families, located in Sussex County, who were in financial need and did not have a stable or consistent housing situation. I did this service for others based on my faith and to repay the Lord for giving me my life, as well as, to show people that God loves them. Since then, the number of individuals that are being fed twice a week has grown to about 80 people consisting of approximately 55 adults and 35 children, all of whom are experiencing housing issues. Many of these individuals employed on a full time or part time basis; but due to health issues, accidents or other family issues they have found themselves in difficult circumstances.
During the delivery of the food to these families, I saw firsthand that people who fought against all kinds of adversity, strive to keep their “family unit” intact. The challenges for these families and the obstacles they faced were tremendous. I knew I needed to do more.
I own a small contracting firm and along with my partner, Ken Lloyd. Ken and I, together with two very close friends Joe Aquilla and Tom McElroy recognized that affordable housing was a critical necessity for these families, if they wanted to move forward towards a better life for themselves and their families. We researched development alternatives for affordable housing in the County and then began to formulate a plan to build and provide affordable housing to low-income families so they could start to move towards a better life for themselves and their children.
To this end we have built a prototype fully furnished “little living” home and we have laid out plans for a small community of 22 homes with four different floor plans and sizes to accommodate families, couples and seniors and singles. The community project includes play areas, a community center, gardens and open spaces. The community would be almost self-contained with its own septic, water and solar farm to provide electricity.
Early on in our planning and discussions with local government staff, it became apparent that we could not depend on government entities, other non-profits or traditional banking sources aid or to fund this project. The need for affordable housing for low- income families or individuals, whether they are employed, disabled or seniors living on limited fixed incomes.
We then decided to form a 501(c)(3) non-profit to seek out like-minded individuals and companies, to raise the funds needed to make Little Living Communities a reality.
Now I know why not me, I know what "I was Destined to Do!"
George Meringolo, President
About Little Living
The goal of Living Little is to develop and build housing communities in Sussex and Kent Counties DE, and beyond, for Veterans, Seniors and families with quality homes they can afford. Many of these individuals and families are working or have income that is insufficient to obtain reliable, safe housing.
We are working to solve the workforce housing issue. The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) published a statewide Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) in 2023 to provide data on current and projected housing costs and needs. The HNA identified a shortage of almost 20,000 rental units that are priced to be affordable to households making between 0 and 50% of Area Median Income (AMI).
Additionally, the study found that the for-salehousing market is out of reach for most buyers,with only 20% of home sales in 2022 priced to be affordable to buyers below 120% AMI.
Further, the HNA projected a need for 24,400 additional units (including ownership and rental units) to keep up with population growth through 2030. This brings the total housing needs to approximately 45,000 units.
Housing stability occurs when households can consistently afford to pay the rent or mortgage without cutting back on essential expenses like food, or health care. When households have stable housing, they can contribute to their local economy, support the economic growth of their families, and manage their families’ health and well-being.
Rising housing costs have increased the number of Delaware households that are housing unstable. Currently, 50% of Delaware renters and 20% of owners pay more than 30% of their gross income in housing costs, higher than the industry standard for affordability. 8% of Delawareans are living out of their cars, couch surfing, or temporarily living with friends or family..