MADISONVILLE, TX — The director of House of Hope Madisonville, a homeless and addiction recovery center in Madison County, says they are still operational after fire burned through part of the center late Friday night.
Director Chris Ashton says fire crews told him the gym, weight room, chapel, laundry room, classroom and the kitchen are considered a total loss. He says the dormitories sustained smoke damage, but they are intact.
Ashton said House of Hope currently houses 43 men, who all made it out of the fire. He says they have been moved into a secondary building and have not been displaced.
Officials have yet to announce the cause of the fire. Madisonville Fire/Rescue and Midway Vol. Fire Department were among the first responders.
There is a GoFundMe listed on House of Hope Madisonville's Facebook page; you can donate here.
House of Hope describes themselves as a "Life Recovery Center in partnership with the House of Disciples in Longview, a ministry of Wiseman Ministries, Inc." They "offer a 12-month discipleship program targeted at, but not exclusive to the homeless or those struggling with addictions... [offering] a residential program that provides housing, food, recreation, spiritual instruction, and life-recovery classes."
