DSU Receives $750,000 National Park Service Grant to Rehab Hope House
DSU’s Hope House / Image courtesy Delaware State University
Delaware State University has received a grant from the Department of the Interior to rehabilitate Hope House. The $750,000 grant will be administered by the National Park Service – and is part of a $10-million award to HBCUs across the country to preserve and protect its historic properties. Hope House is on the National Historic Registry and is on DSU’s Downtown campus. Currently the University uses Hope House for student programming and social services – like counseling services, self-care activities and cultural connection and the local community is involved in many activities at Hope House.
Additional information from DSU:
Dr. Eleanor Kiesel, Senior Associate Dean of the DSU Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, researched successfully wrote the grant that was awarded in July 2024.
“We are honored to be given this opportunity to provide programming and supportive social services to our students in this home that was originally owned by former slave owners,” Dr. Kiesel said.
The funding for the DSU property will satisfy Phase I of a project to rehabilitate this property that was pre-1885, with Queen Anne architectural features. It was acquired by DSU as part of its Wesley College acquisition in 2021 along with several other historic properties.
The Hope House came into fruition as part of the University’s establishment of the Safe Space Coalition, created to answer student calls for more intervention and prevention services for sexual assault. The Safe Space Coalition, led by Dr. Gwendolyn Scott Jones, Dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, assesses University safety protocols, campus policies, and response services that deal with sexual assaults, domestic violence, harassment, bullying, mental illness, and health-related matters.
The funding will enable DSU to address the pre-1885, three-story frame building’s exterior, interior water damage, and mold remediation.
For information about the grant and the Hope House, contact Dr. Kiesel at ekiesel@desu.edu.
