Residents return a month after July 4 fire at Derwood women’s shelter

Community donated hot meals and nearly $80,000 to support Interfaith Works

August 8, 2024 5:52 p.m.

More than 30 women and 16 staff members who were displaced by a July 4 fire at the Interfaith Works women’s shelter in Derwood are returning about a month earlier than expected, according to shelter officials.

“Many of our ladies are extremely happy to be back, and of course, to be able to start their normal routine,” N’Jeri Henry, deputy director of Homeless Services for Emergency Shelters at Interfaith Works, told MoCo360 Wednesday.

Interfaith Works, which provides housing assistance, shelter programs, essential needs and employment services, runs the shelter for women. The shelter provides short-term emergency housing and case management services ranging from medical care to legal, psychiatric and vocational services, according to the nonprofit’s website.

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Starting Thursday, the women who had been staying at a temporary shelter in a Rockville office building were able to bring their belongings and settle back into the Derwood facility, Henry said.

In the aftermath of the fire, Interfaith Works raised nearly $80,000 in total donations from 300 people and others provided in-kind donations through an Amazon wish list to help the women who were displaced, the nonprofit said in a press release.

Henry said she was thankful for the support provided by the community and “for thinking of our ladies, even when they sometimes have difficulty thinking about themselves.”

The July 4 fire, which started midday and damaged the kitchen and bathroom areas of the center, was sparked by an overheated fan motor in the ceiling of the facility’s bathroom, according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS). The blaze displaced the shelter’s 34 residents and 16 staff members.

Shelter residents were relocated to a county-owned office building in Rockville, according to Interfaith Works CEO Courtney Hall. The temporary shelter had sufficient space for the women to sleep and was equipped with bathrooms and showers, he said.

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In July, Hall told MoCo360 that it could take up to two months for the shelter to be move-in ready. But just over 30 days after the fire, the shelter had been cleaned, repaired and ready for its residents to move back in, according to the nonprofit.

According to the release, SERVPRO of Rockville–a commercial and residential property restoration and cleanup company–assisted with the initial cleanup of the site while the county’s Department of General Services repaired the damage and ensured the structure was safe for the women.

While the women stayed in the temporary shelter, the county’s Services to End and Prevent Homelessness department helped Interfaith Works staff secure additional resources such as a trailer with extra showers, laundry facilities and transportation, Henry said.

The Red Cross also worked with the county to provide cots and bedding items as well as three days’ worth of meals to the women in the days following the fire.

Because the temporary shelter did not have a kitchen, Interfaith Works asked the public and local restaurants for donations as well as hot, prepared meals for the women.

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Henry said hot meal donations from the community ensured the women “never missed a meal.”

“It was such a blessing to be able to even ask them, like, ‘What would you like to eat today?’ ” she said.

“The space we were in [was] really not fit for a shelter, but it’s a space that we had to just make work to the best of our ability, and we did,” Henry said. “We were also able to get a great deal of support from the Montgomery County community, which we really could not have done this without their help.”

In an online fundraiser, Interfaith Works raised more than $32,000 from nearly 280 supporters. The donations were used to support feeding the displaced residents and to purchase new furniture for the shelter as well as new linens, pillows and a storage unit for the women’s bathroom.

“The sofa that we had was totally damaged. It reeked of the smoke and absorbed everything,” Henry said, noting the women were very appreciative to find new furniture and items upon their return to the shelter.

“At the very least, we were able to get things that I know that our ladies would appreciate,” Henry said. “And I want them to feel appreciated, and to know that this may be a difficult situation right now that we had to deal with, but there’s always another side to a difficult situation, which is the better part.”

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