The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) is appealing to the public for donations after its office in Edmonton was broken into this past weekend.
In a tweet on Monday evening, the registered charity said many valuables were taken, including pieces of tech equipment, donated items and contents in a cash box.
Office furniture was also destroyed when the perpetrators tried to break open cabinets and drawers.
Jan Reimer, executive director of the ACWS, said the perpetrators also stole the charity’s financial information.
The perpetrators stole around $7,000 to $10,000 worth of stuff, she said.
“Our staff are very, very busy and this is a big setback for us because we have to replace the tech equipment for our presentations and laptops for work,” Reimer told QR Calgary.
“I think we have a very good security system in place. Usually, you require a fob to get into the building and on the weekends you need a fob to use the elevator and you can’t access the office using the stairs.
“We were thinking, what else we could have done? But there’s not a whole lot. It’s amazing what a crowbar could do.”
This is an added burden to the charity, which is already facing chronic underfunding and high demands for shelter spaces.
The ACWS published a report in December which stated thousands of women and children were turned away from Alberta women’s shelters in 2021.
Data showed shelters received 65,390 calls for support between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. Of those, 25,530 were calls to request admission to a shelter.
However, the ACWS said only 16.6 per cent of those calls resulted in the shelter being able to take them in. Most requests were from women and seniors who were turned away due to the shelters being at capacity.
More than 6,200 children accompanied these women and seniors, according to the report.
Reimer said the incident will not affect organizations such as shelters since they all operate independently.
“It will affect the staff more, since this will be adding to their plates. Many of them provide support for our members,” the executive director said.
“It will affect us, but it won’t have a direct impact on our members.”
But Reimer said they’re trying to look on the bright side.
“While it’s a really awful thing that happened to us, the community response has been wonderful… We’ve had community members reach out and we’ve had other organizations reach out,” she said. “It’s really heartwarming and appreciated.”
Those interested in making a financial donation can visit the ACWS website.
–With files from Caley Gibson, Global News.
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