The founder of a High Street night shelter destroyed by fire hopes to re-start the service.
Rob Sefton, who opened the Braintree Emergency Night Shelter (BENS) in 2012, said it was still too early to talk about specifics.
He said: “We can’t make plans yet because we have got no answers- we don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix up the building, we haven’t got enough information.
“We have got a three year lease on the building but I can’t even claim anything on my insurance yet.”
Mr Sefton, who is also a pastor at a church in Maldon, said he was in talks about re-opening the charity cafe which occupied the ground floor of the building in a new premises.
However, he held back on asking for donations until the full extent of the damage is known.
He said: “I have had a handful of donations so that’s good, but I can’t really ask people for money because I don’t know what we are going to do with it.
“When we have got plans I will be making an appeal and I’m sure it won’t take us long to come up with something.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here