ORLANDO, Fla. — Wednesday marks two weeks since a fire broke out at the Coalition for the Homeless men's shelter in Orlando.

More than 200 people were displaced.


What You Need To Know

  • It's been two weeks since a fire displaced over 200 people at an Orlando homeless shelter 

  • The coalition says it’ll be at least 30 days before the shelter is fully up and running

  • Many have been moved to Shiloh Baptist Church in the meantime

Coalition leaders originally said it would take ten days for the shelter to be back up and running, but leaders now say it’ll be at least 30 days.

Eddie Thompson Sr. has a positive outlook on the situation. He’s been staying at the Coalition for the Homeless for 14 months and was there when the fire broke out.

“It’s got a lot of water damage upstairs and the air is not quality, so we’re just on hold,” he said.

Thompson Sr. is now staying at Shiloh Baptist Church and uses other services to take care of his day-to-day needs, such as the mobile bathrooms and showers provided by Salt Outreach

Trinette Nation with the coalition says the men’s dorm is not the only affected area. The shelter’s kitchen is also inoperable.

“That facility provided all of our meals here on campus. We have approximately 500 men, women and children, so it has impacted our entire campus,” she said.

Nation says due to the fire, nearly 240 men have been displaced, of that number 140 men are staying at Shiloh Baptist Church

“They really stepped in and stepped up and helped us out and made sure that our men were sheltered at night,” she said.

The investigation into what caused the fire remains open at this time.