HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – A church in Huntsville opened up a temporary shelter for guests who were displaced after a hotel fire.

First Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Huntsville partnered with the Red Cross to provide 15 displaced people with a temporary place to stay.

This comes after a fire at Suburban Studios Extended Stay displaced over 120 guests.

Starting on Wednesday, these guests were offered three meals a day, a place to sleep, and showers from ShowerUp, which comes by the church each afternoon to make up for the church’s lack of shower facilities.

“Everybody is welcome in this place to be able to find lodging, find rest, reprieve, and just know that they are loved by us,” said Dr. William Lee, the church’s Senior Pastor. “But most of all, loved by God.”

Danyone Reynolds is one of those 15 guests, and she appreciates everything the Red Cross and the church have done for her and her two sons.

But volunteers say they expect this shelter to only last through Friday night. Considering this, Reynolds said she knows they need a long-term plan soon.

She said she paid for a month in advance at the hotel before the fire left them without a place to stay. Even if Reynolds gets her refund, she said she can’t currently afford any other places to stay that meet her family’s needs.

“If the GM is doing everything she can do, I understand that, but I just feel like it’s something more that could’ve been done, even if it’s communicating better,” Reynolds said. “If I paid up for the month and I get displaced, I just would like the people over the hotel to say, ‘Well, we could put you here.’ Then the money that you paid can cover you.”

Reynolds says everything her family owns is still back at the hotel. She doesn’t have a car, so there’s nowhere for their things to go until they find a more permanent place to stay.

Red Cross volunteers understand these struggles, and they want to do everything they can to help Reynolds and the others to plan before they leave.

“That is our goal, is to be able to sit down with them and help them plan their future planning and see what their path ahead is,” said volunteer Jack McCreary. “That’s what Red Cross does. We’re here to support the community. This is something that all of us have a calling to do.”

Reynolds said she wishes Suburban Studios had a plan in place for an emergency like this. Now, she’s also asking for help from the community, not just for her family, but for all the others struggling to get by.

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