Volunteers at St. Alban’s are salvaging what’s left after one of their sheds – storing food and donations for their outreach programs – was broken into Saturday night.
The church stores donations, food and other supplies in its two sheds, located behind the hall next to the church, where St. Alban’s holds its community meals, Friday lunches and hamper pick-ups.
“They tried to burn (the shed) down in three places,” said Kristin Woodhouse, a volunteer outreach worker with the church.
“We give out socks and we give out towels, we give out all kinds of stuff to people who need it – and they went through it all, and threw it all over the lawn behind the hall and burned a ton of stuff.”
Drug paraphernalia was also left scattered about the area.
Many of the socks, toques, underwear and hygiene products stored in the shed were burned, said Woodhouse – supplies necessary as the weather changes, and which would have lasted the church up to six months. Now, just about two dozen socks and some toques are left.
Tents, a donated bike and food were also stolen, she said – all items that the church saves for people in need. Kids’ toys were also damaged or strewn about.
The culprits also tried to break into the second shed. Meanwhile, the floor, back wall and light will all need to be replaced in the shed that was broken into.
“This was just deliberate. This was just malicious and totally unnecessary. That’s the thing – if you want something, if you need something, we’re always there,” said Woodhouse.
“And a lot of the people who have relied on our services in the past, come back to donate their time and give back what they received and that’s the best part. And so this one, that’s why it hurts so much. It just seems so malicious.”
The break-in was discovered by the church’s outreach volunteers Sunday morning, said Woodhouse, and reported to Richmond RCMP.
“It’s very discouraging, it’s disheartening, but it’s not going to stop us… We will rise to the occasion because this is our community and we care about each other,” said Woodhouse.
“We don’t give up (and) we’ll keep going. That’s what we do.”
