‘Really disappointed’: Halifax community heartbroken over park vandalism

Residents of a Halifax neighbourhood are in shock after the most recent act of vandalism left their beloved park badly wrecked.

Westwood Park, located in the west end of the city, had become a safe haven for members of the community, bringing them a sense of belonging through year-round activities. Kids in the area call the place magical; it’s where they go tobogganing and play friendly soccer.

The park is maintained by volunteers, the City Kidds Escape Society, who have put on free gardening and sports events for youth in the area since 2015.

But last week, it became a target of vandalism.

Trees were cut and monuments were burned and wrecked, leaving the park and its facilities unrecognizable.

Tina Raftus, founder of the City Kidds Escape Society, says the park is “too important to too many people” for this to continue.

“I don’t know if it’s outsiders or who it is, or if it’s just someone that, you know, is just going through some trouble and stuff, but we just want it to stop,” Raftus said.

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View image in full screen

Raftus said she was disappointed to see the damage. To the community, it’s more than just a park.

“The kids worked so, so hard bringing everything up. Like, we have school tours, everybody from around,” she said.

“It’s nothing like hearing four different languages on the soccer field, and so many people from various places that are new to Canada come here and tell me this is the only place that they found peace.”

Raftus hopes raising awareness of the vandalism will help bring more eyes to the park, and prevent further damage.

“I decided to contact the news and see if we can get more eyes on the garden because it’s so important to the community overall, it’s just heartbreaking.”

The volunteer said she had reached out to the area’s councillor and was told by city staff the vandalism has been reported.

— with files from Global News’ Karla Renić.