Family Crisis Center of Prince George's Co. head resigns after complaints of poor living conditions

BRENTWOOD, Md. - The director of a shelter for domestic violence victims in Prince George's County has resigned after complaints about the shelter's living conditions.

The women in this shelter reached out to FOX 5 and shared a video of rodent droppings inside the kitchen of the Family Crisis Center of Prince George's County - a non-profit facility. It is the only one in the county that provides temporary housing for abused women and their children.

A resident who did not want to be identified said she has witnessed filth and mold in the kitchen and bathrooms along with lack of heat during the months that she has been staying there. She believes it has been going on much longer since she has been there.

"I noticed mold on our food," she said. "They would leave our food out for days at a time and then try to re-give it to us days later. We have an infant in there. She is only five months. There is no heat in her room. It's freezing in her room. We have another young lady with no heat in her room either. We have complained, complained, complained - and we were just not getting any answers at all."

On Monday, then-executive director Sophie Ford released a statement saying heat in the shelter was functioning properly and photos that had circulated of moldy food were actually images of food the staff had already discarded.

However, Ford resigned from her position on Thursday.

Andrea Morris, the acting director of the Family Crisis Center of Prince George's County, said in a statement:

"Sophie Ford's resignation was appropriate action based on her performance in leading the organization. The Family Crisis Center Board of Directors has taken over direct operations of the organization effective yesterday."

The shelter resident we spoke with said the women were told they would be placed in hotels temporarily and that took place on Friday.

The acting director said she hopes to have the shelter ready to operate again soon after the new year.