Habitat for Humanity in London is looking to the public for help following a break and enter that is causing delays at two of the organization's build sites.
Officials with Habitat for Humanity said a trailer at one of their two unfinished homes of Forbes St. was broken into sometime Monday night or early Tuesday morning. A saw as well as a number of other power tools were stolen. The trailer doors were also damaged and now need to be replaced.
"It's like being punched in the stomach because you're actively working towards making your community better, and you're helping out two families that have a need, and then people steal from you," said Habitat CEO Brian Elliot. "As a non-profit we spend our money as wisely as we can. We want to put as much money back into helping families as we can. To have to go out and replace things needlessly... it takes away from doing even more for the families."
The break-in has caused a significant setback for volunteer builders, who are working to finish the homes for the Solomon and Robitaille families.
Elliot said they've managed to replenish some tools by borrowing them from other job sites, but the theft has forced them to reschedule a number of build days. He adds that as it gets closer to December, it's becoming a race against the winter weather to complete the homes.
"[Tuesday] was a beautiful day to be working, [but] we're not sure how many more of these we're going to get," he said. "When you miss a day that's 11 C, it's hard to replace that in December."
Elliot said if the weather becomes uncooperative, it could cause even more delays for the build and for the two London families who are set to move in.
"We know this is not representative of the London community at large and certainly don't want this action to slow us down in getting these families into the homes."
Anyone would like to help out by donating tools or volunteer at one of the build sites can contact Habitat for Humanity at 519-455-6623 or email info@habitat4home.ca.
