Culprits steal non-profit’s equipment
SYDNEY — Thieves who targeted a non-profit organization this week have just taken away a pile of jobs.
Justin Vallis, general manager of Pathways to Employment on Prince Street, Sydney, arrived at work Wednesday morning to discover the organization's heavy- duty utility trailer, parked beside the building, had been stolen.
The Cape Breton Regional Police were contacted.
“My first thought immediately was that it takes away a lot of the opportunity for employment we can provide to participants,” Vallis said. “Our ability to provide direct employment for individuals in need is now greatly compromised.”
Vallis said the theft would have occurred sometime after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday into early morning Wednesday.
The culprits could have taken anything else and it wouldn't have been so detrimental, he said.
The trailer is a big part of their daily operations, used for everything from picking up donated wood for use at their shop, to transporting lawn tractors for property maintenance to deliveries.
A local company donates about 1,000 pounds of recycled hardwood to the organization for its kindling business, every two or three weeks.
“Without the trailer we don't have a way to load it and take it back to the shop,” Vallis added.
The organization has had the trailer for about six years.
Although Vallis didn't have a replacement cost at hand, he said it's a heavyduty trailer that cost $2,500 or more.
“Without it we won't be able to offer some of those job opportunities we have to our participants,” Vallis said. “It's a huge loss for us.”
Pathways to Employment is a non-profit social enterprise that offers individuals with mental illness meaningful, supported employment through three social businesses — a wood shop, property maintenance and laundry. They currently employ 50 individuals and have a waiting list of more than 100. The organization serves about 200 individuals a year either through programming or their social business lines.
Vallis said they didn't have security cameras on the building at the time of the theft and had recently got funding for cameras and security lighting which a contractor was getting ready to install.
“I guess we were just a little bit too late,” he added.
However, he's hoping businesses along Prince
Street, Grand Lake Road and George Street will check their video cameras for footage which may show the trailer being towed.
“Any one of those streets,” he said. “There's only so many ways the individuals could have went.”
Vallis said they've already reached out to some businesses.
News of the theft has also been posted on the organization's Facebook page and Vallis is grateful to those who are sharing the post.
“We're grateful to have a good community behind us that understands the importance of what we do,” he added.
Police spokesperson Desiree Magnus said a theft complaint was received from Pathways to Employment Wednesday morning and police are investigating.
Anyone who saw anything in that area overnight Tuesday or early Wednesday morning or has any information regarding the theft, is asked to contact police at 902-563-5151 or Crime Stoppers, 902-562-8477.