A fire last week at Christ Lutheran Church in Federal Hill displaced seven women and 10 children at what was one of only three homeless shelters in Baltimore that accept children.
The basement fire early Friday forced residents to evacuate and leave behind their belongings, said Yvonne Terry, executive director of Baltimore Outreach Services. There were no reported injuries. The fire left the shelter flooded and without electricity.
Baltimore Outreach Services, which runs the shelter, relocated residents to a hotel, and community and church members have donated clothing.
“The families are very resilient,” Terry said. “But it’s still trauma for them. And so the community has stepped in to help support them in that way, just to show them that they’re valued.”
Terry said she is coordinating with the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services to move the residents to a different shelter in the city.
Baltimore Outreach Services, which has operated for more than two decades, is part of Christ Lutheran’s ministry but is separately incorporated. Other church programs also have been affected by the fire.
The church is a staple in its community. Other ministries provide more than 250 apartments to low-income seniors and offer preschool programming, said the Rev. Dr. Amsalu Geleta, Christ Lutheran’s lead pastor.
“The church responded to the needs of the community in a big and small way for decades,” the pastor said.
The shelter was renovated just last year, but Terry said she has high hopes for its future.
“Right now, it’s just one big open space, which can trigger various traumas,” Terry said. “So when we redo the space, we want to keep that in mind, just show that families can maybe have their own sort of privacy spaces.”
Earlier this month, Baltimore Outreach Services hosted a gala that raised more than $117,000 for the organization. Focused on breaking the cycle of homelessness by addressing the underlying causes, the shelter offers programs like life skills classes and case management services.
“The gala gave us exposure as to the services that we provide for families,” Terry said. “And so in a way, it helped to garner the support that we were going to need for this week. Without even knowing it.”
