Baltimore church, shelter open doors to families in need six months after devastating fire
BALTIMORE -- Six months after a devastating fire, the Christ Lutheran Church and Baltimore Outreach Services (BOS), a shelter for women and children, are celebrating this holiday season.
Their annual holiday party invites families they've served back to the church for food, presents, and reconnecting. This holiday gathering meant a bit more for shelter staff and families because it symbolized rebuilding and moving forward.
Church fire
On June 14, just before 4 a.m., an explosion was reported in the basement utility closet of Christ Lutheran Church, at 701 S. Charles Street. No one was hurt, and all seven families, as well as shelter staff, evacuated safely.
While the cause of the fire remained under investigation, the city's fire department posted a photo of fire coming from a manhole.
Who the shelter services
The Baltimore Outreach Services is a shelter for women and children located on the bottom floor of the church where the fire began.
Seven families were displaced from the shelter and through a partnership with the city, were placed in the city's homeless shelter. Four families have since been placed in permanent housing.
"It was devastating," said Yvonne Terry, executive director of Baltimore Outreach Services. "It started off the kitchen [for] this shelter. It was a total explosion in total darkness in the middle of the night."
The shelter provides more than just a place to rest and a warm meal. It gives women trauma-informed care to help them have a fresh start.
"It made me feel immediately, like sad for the women who was still here, because I didn't know what the next steps were for them," said Patrice Tramill, who was in the shelter for 10 months and moved into her home in March, months before the fire.
Renovations made since fire
In the six months since the fire, the church was forced to make several upgrades and renovations, costing more than $2 million.
"It's been grueling," Terry said. "It's been a hard process, but we're going forward, and you know that's what's important, the sprinkler installation and the renovation of the bathrooms and the painting and flooring."
June 2025 goal to reopen shelter
At its end-of-year holiday party for families who have gone through the program, the church says it was looking forward to a new start to help Baltimoreans who need it most.
"We have so many calls every day for women with children and men, who are looking for shelter and seeking shelter," Terry said. "It just breaks my heart that, you know, we're not here for them to help them."
After reconstruction and placing the remaining families in permanent housing, the goal is to reopen the shelter in June 2025 with a new cohort of families.
"You need places like BOS to exist"
Homelessness has been a systemic problem in Baltimore City for decades. Tramill says this shelter changed her life and is giving her four children an opportunity she didn't think they would have.
"BOS is needed in Baltimore City, truly needed," Tramill said. "I wish I had a million bucks, so I could get the process moving faster. You need places like BOS to exist, and the journey isn't easy but it's necessary."