DETROIT – A fire has damaged a westside community center and forced it close. Maggie Lee’s Community Center is located on Puritan near Livernois.
One Detroit woman who wanted to do positive things for her neighborhood and for kids started the center about five years ago. But a recent fire has forced the neighborhood to rebuild.
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Restoration crews were busy shoveling soot, sucking up char, and cleaning the water damage left behind from Monday’s fire.
“Someone called me and said the building is on fire,” said Maggie Williams-Hinton, the center’s founder. “Just that quick. All this damage was done and you know it's hurting. It's hurting all of us, but the kids mostly.”
Hinton started the center as a safe place for kids. They came after school to do homework as well as to learn martial arts and boxing.
The center is also a place seniors can come for fellowship. The neighborhood holds block meetings here as well. There was also a daycare and Headstart program, but that facility is a complete loss.
“This is a very severe job there's probably over a million dollars in damage,” said contractor Steve Fernimos.
Hinton has always had a vision to help her community but now she’s the one in need of help.
“If anyone can help or if they saw anything, let me know because this hurts not only the center and the neighborhood,” she said. “It hurts all of us in the long run. It's taking away from the children, the seniors. It's taking away from the center and what it's supposed to do.”