Heartless thieves steal from Whittlesea disability service
The Whittlesea YMCA Disability Service has vowed to keep offering crucial services to the disabled community after about $20,000 worth of equipment was stolen by heartless criminals.
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The Whittlesea YMCA Disability Service has vowed to keep offering crucial services to the disabled community saying they will dip into their own pocket to replace thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen by heartless thieves.
Whittlesea YMCA Community Services manager Annette Jurisch said about $20,000 worth of camping and mobility equipment and a trailer had been stolen by the shameless criminals in two separate incidents just days apart.
Ms Jurisch believed an angle grinder had been used to break through metal chains and padlocks to access the equipment, which was being stored at the Mill Park Leisure Centre carpark.
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Disability service staff were only told a container full of camping equipment, used to take people with disabilities on special excursions, had also been broken into when they alerted construction staff at the leisure centre site about the theft of the trailer on November 11.
Construction workers said they noticed the container had been broken into on November 7 but believed the service provider already knew about it.
Ms Jurisch said the incidents, in which the thieves “had a field day”, had rocked the YMCA but it would not stop them offering crucial services to the Whittlesea disabled community.
“We won’t let it impact our service users, we will just be buying everything out of pocket and then hopefully the insurance company will reimburse us,” she said.
“It is devastating, especially if insurance don’t pay out.”
About 400 people used the service, she said.
Despite the incidents she encouraged the thieves to return the goods and seek help from the service if they wanted.
“If someone is having a hard time we have an open door policy.”
Victoria Police media adviser Luke Zammit said police were investigating.
He urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
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