Community offers helping hand after fire destroys kitchen of Windsor recovery home

Hand in Hand residents have been displaced after a $70,000 fire this week. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru reports on the work being done to get the residents home.

A Windsor transitional recovery home that serves roughly 150 meals a day is now without a working kitchen after a fire broke out at its Sandwich Street facility.

The fire started shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday at Hand in Hand Support, located at 3020 Sandwich Street.

Robert Sandwith, co-founder of Hand in Hand Support, said the building’s commercial suppression system helped keep the fire from spreading further.

“We got everybody evacuated, got everybody out. Nobody was hurt, thank God,” said Sandwith.

While much of the direct fire damage was contained to the kitchen, smoke spread throughout the building. Windsor Fire has estimated the damage at approximately $70,000.

The loss of the kitchen is particularly disruptive for an organization that houses dozens of men and provides meals as part of its recovery programming.

“We’ve got roughly 50 men that are in recovery here at this transitional home,” said Sandwith.

“We run a 90-day program to get folks back up and running in life and with another continuum of care.”

Hand in Hand is not an emergency homeless shelter. It operates as a sober-living and transitional recovery home, providing residents with housing and support as they work toward greater stability.

Sandwith said the kitchen normally plays a central role in day-to-day operations, with roughly 150 meals served there each day.

“Our kitchen is essential,” Sandwith said.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, residents and staff were moved to temporary accommodations at an undisclosed location.

Hand in Hand staff have continued maintaining a round-the-clock presence at the Sandwich Street property while working with utilities, insurance representatives, bylaw officials, and contractors to determine what needs to happen before residents can return.

There is currently no firm timeline for reopening the building or restoring the kitchen.

As word of the fire spread, members of Windsor’s food community began organizing donations to help fill the immediate gap.

Juanita Hurst said she connected with people through the Windsor Food Spotters Facebook group and began reaching out to businesses that might be able to contribute.

“I just started messaging people and asking, ‘What can we do? Who can help?’” Hurst said.

The response quickly snowballed.

“My phone just kept going off,” Hurst said.

“At one point, I had about 20 unread messages from people wanting to help.”

Hurst worked alongside Shawn Rizk, who runs the Windsor Food Spotters Facebook group, to coordinate donations for Hand in Hand.

Among the donations arranged were 200 frozen meals from Mercato Fresh and Macro Foods, eight pizzas from OG Pizza, chicken dinners from Swan Grill, 100 corn dogs from Today Cafe Windsor, chicken from Flings Fried Chicken, and donuts from Maverick Donuts.

Rizk said the effort shows the value of having a large local network that can respond quickly when an organization is suddenly in need.

“That’s the kind of stuff that pushes the needle and really helps out the people that need it the most,” he said.

For Hand in Hand, that support is helping bridge the period between the fire and the eventual reopening of its kitchen.

The organization is continuing to accept community support as repairs and assessments move forward.

Those looking to help can contact Hand in Hand Support at [e-mail].

More photos of the damage is available in CTV Windsor’s photo galleries.