When one school in Detroit closed, a church decided to turn it into a place of hope. Now, investigators are working to find out who set the building on fire.
The fire was discovered at the former Duke Ellington Middle School on Saturday.
“A big sadness came over me,” said Pastor Alonzo Bell of the Martin Evans Missionary Baptist Church on Detroit’s East Side. “Because of all the work we put in and all of the things we were trying to do.”
Bell says since he leased this building from Detroit Public Schools 3 years ago, he has offered tutoring, youth recreation, and created a senior center. He had plans to start a program to help young moms get an education after high school. He says he offered this building up to the community.
"Why would you do your own community like this?” asked the pastor. “Everyone knows all we have been doing for the past three years is providing programs. Why would you destroy something that is yours?”
Investigators told the pastor it appears someone poured lighter fluid in the back of the building before lighting it on fire. The pastor says for now he will move his programs into his church, but there is not as much space.
He is asking for the public's help. He says donations of items for the child care service, children’s books, and cash would be helpful.
You can learn how to help and reach out to him at redeemdetroit.org.
