Woodbrook home for pregnant teens destroyed by fire

MANAGEMENT at Mary Care, a care home for unwed teenage mothers, is asking for help after a fire destroyed the building.

The fire alarm went off at around 11 pm on April 30 at the home on Gallus Street, Woodbrook, and flames quickly engulfed the building.

Fire officers have not yet found the cause of the blaze but based on an eyewitness report, it is believed the fire started in either the kitchen or an adjacent room.

The home's manager Deborah DeRosia told Newsday the damage has been estimated to be in the millions.

“The extent of the damage is they said 90 per cent of the building is destroyed. So let us just say the whole building has gone through. And if we look at the square footage of the building, we would think to rebuild is going to cost us a minimum of $3 million.”

Luckily, none of the home's occupants – including two pregnant teenage girls, two teenage mothers, two toddlers, and a staff member – were injured.

DeRosia said while the girls appeared to be okay, the caregiver was distressed.

“The caregiver was all over the place, very much shaken, very traumatised.

“The young ladies, while you can never really tell what's happening deep inside, they seemed very comfortable that they got out of the building and their children were safe.”

She said all the occupants were medically assessed and the Catholic archdiocese will take the responsibility of ensuring their mental health.

“We have a formal committee in the archdiocese. As long as the Children's Authority does not (step in), then the archdiocese would handle the counselling that has to take place for both caregivers and for the children.”

Meanwhile, the teenage girls and the toddlers are being temporarily housed at St Jude's Home for Girls, and staff say that arrangement, while appreciated, is not sustainable.

"We will have to move them soon because St Jude's doesn't cater for people with babies," said DeRosia.

She and the rest of the management team spent May 1 viewing possible locations.

Three potential buildings have been found, but all need some level of renovation to make the space ideal.

“We are going to move them to another facility (but) we are deciding exactly which one. Whichever one is going to take the least amount of repairs so that they can be moved within a matter of three to four days. So that assessment is being done presently.”

In the meantime, the public is being asked to help the young mothers replace their belongings.

"We need everything," said DeRosia. "The food that would have been there for the babies, the clothes, everything, all the belongings, everything was destroyed."

She said furniture and appliances also needed to be replaced, and hoped the public would step up to help any way it could.

"Everything that goes into the making of a house. We have to put it together."

She called on all arms of the state to work with management so it can continue providing the service it has carried out for the past 60-odd years.

“This is an opportunity for us to rally together as a country. It's an opportunity for all services, national self-help, social development, government, since we have been offering these services since the 1960s under archbishop Anthony Pantin. It's now an opportunity for us as a nation to come together in solidarity to rebuild.”

Anyone willing to help can call Deborah DeRosia – 360-4850; Dr Cynthia Low Chew Tung – 752-1451; Angela Gonzales – 680-9024; Eleanor Wells – 294-5327; Marilyn Mora-Francis – 680-0153; Deborah John-Belle – 499-3873.

DeRosia thanked neighbours for their help and the TT Fire Service for its quick response.

“There was a restaurant next door, and the restaurant accommodated them right away.

“Thanks also to the fire services who responded within ten minutes from Woodbrook, Wrightson Road, and San Juan, so that the fire was contained and didn’t spread to neighbouring buildings."