SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio nonprofit SAMMinistries is collecting donations for 22 households impacted by an apartment fire at a complex that housed people getting out of homelessness.
Donna Snow remembers the smoke coming from the unit above hers when her complex, Hudson Apartments on Blanco, caught fire on March 11.
“I had to grab my cats and everything and run out, and we went to the office. It was really bad. The smoke was really bad up there,” Snow said, pointing to the unit above.
The fire was started by a rooftop AC, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
The units house people who face long-term homelessness or have mental or physical disabilities. In all, 22 units were damaged in the fire.
Nikisha Baker, president and CEO of SAMMinistries, said there is no estimated amount or timeline for repairing the building so that people can move back in. Those displaced by the fire have been relocated to other units in the complex.
“We expect that there will be a long road to hoe. And if we had all of the funding today, contractors have told us it will take somewhere between 90 and 150 days to get these units back online,” Baker said.
Snow is currently sharing a temporary apartment with another displaced resident, but she’s ready to return to her apartment of two years.
“I lived in a shelter,” Snow said, adding she was enjoying having a place of her own.
The nonprofit is raising funds to help the families directly impacted by the fire. Click here for a link to the website. They are also accepting donations of food, clothing, and household goods at 910 Oblate.
