The Op Shop West Footscray is struggling to keep afloat after a string of break ins

An op shop in Melbourne’s west is on the brink of closing due to the costs of regular break-ins and vandalism.

An op shop in Melbourne’s west, which provides free care for migrants and those with disabilities, is on the brink of collapse after becoming a target for “heartless” thieves.

The Op Shop West Footscray has reported almost monthly break-ins since it opened nine months ago, with staff forced to dip into their own pockets to replace and restore damaged items including CCTV cameras, windows, doors and toilets.

Op Shop owner Pradeep Tiwari said each break-in made it harder to find the motivation to keep the store running.

“Every time it happens now our minds go to ‘we have to shut it down now’ because of the money it costs us,” he said.

“Because of these break-in we’re behind three months in rent.

“We’ve even had cameras stolen, the till broken into, wires ripped out and all these things cost $300-400 each to fix. We haven’t even been open a year and we have to keep paying thousands of replace things.

“There’s only so much we can take mentally as well. I don’t know if it’s going to stop and I don’t think it will”.

The last break-in about 10 days ago prompted the shop to launch a GoFundMe to raise awareness for people to “keep an eye out”.

Mr Tiwari said he also regularly found people dumping rubbish, including dirty nappies, into the shop’s donation bin.

Since opening, the shop has become a popular addition to the Barkly St village with its Halloween party last year drawing more than 1200 people.

The op shop also has a migrant program where newly arrived migrants can “take anything from the shop free” to get started in their new community.

Several new migrants have also taken up shifts and, with the help of the op shop, have been put through language schools.

The shop also for a time after Covid offered free coffee for “lonely” residents.

Mr Tiwari said it was this engagement with the community that “keeps staff going”.

“The biggest thing we find in running the shop are the people who come here and really enjoy themselves, even if it’s just a five minute conversation,” he said.

“With everything we have to deal with the shop barely makes enough to cover its costs … but what keeps us going is when people come out and the smiles they give us”.