'Heartless' break-in at Oshawa centre for deaf

Miss-Delectable · 11-05-2009, 04:18 AM

newsdurhamregion.com | 'Heartless' break-in at Oshawa centre for deaf

Halloween for the Durham Deaf Centre was marred when a "heartless" ghoul broke in to its Oshawa office and stole a laptop.

Lisa Westlake, the resource development officer for the centre, estimated the damage of the break-in and theft totals between $2,200 and $3,000.

"There's a great big sign in front of the building that says this is the Durham Deaf Centre. It's heartless. Not only are you stealing from here, but the services that help those who are disadvantaged already," said DDC executive director Yvonne Brown.

The break-in at the centre's King Street East location happened sometime on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Like others in the social service sector, the DDC is dealing with a drop in funding because of the recession.

"We're already in a tough situation. We're trying to overcome a lack of funding and we have this on our plate as well. We're struggling in a struggling time," Ms. Westlake said. "The damage done to the building, we'll have to pay someone to fix."

Ms. Brown said the agency has insurance, but the deductible is $2,500, so it wouldn't be worth it to go through insurance.

"It means we're out of pocket. This isn't something you budget for."

Millwork Home Centre has donated a door to replace the one damaged, Ms. Westlake said.

With the recession and the slump in manufacturing, fewer people are working and aren't able to donate to charities, Ms. Westlake said.

"They may need services as well. The windows, the laptop and the already diminished funding. It's disappointing. Not only are we a charity, we're serving the disabled," Ms. Westlake noted.

"They were looking for money or anything they could carry. My presumption is they were on foot. They didn't want to be seen walking with large items."

The centre has between 500 and 800 clients, Ms. Brown noted.

"It's not just the deaf or hearing impaired, it's hearing people as well. And there are those who come in looking for help."

One service provided is sign-language lessons for parents of a newborn deaf child. There are also literacy programs for deaf and hearing impaired.

Durham Regional Police Sergeant Nancy van Rooy said police went to the site for a break-in after a tenant in an apartment called to report credit cards had been stolen. The lock on a money box was broken and money taken, although it was primarily change, Sgt. van Rooy stated.

Initially, it was thought two laptops were missing, but it was quickly determined that a staff member had one, so only one was taken, Sgt. van Rooy said.

Anyone wanting to help out can call the centre at 905-579-3328 or use the TTY line of 905-579-6495.

11-05-2009, 04:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
Miss-Delectable Capt Tony Nelson, Jeannie Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: No.1 Shopping Capital in Australia Posts: 10,238 Blog Entries: 3	'Heartless' break-in at Oshawa centre for deaf newsdurhamregion.com \| 'Heartless' break-in at Oshawa centre for deaf Halloween for the Durham Deaf Centre was marred when a "heartless" ghoul broke in to its Oshawa office and stole a laptop. Lisa Westlake, the resource development officer for the centre, estimated the damage of the break-in and theft totals between $2,200 and $3,000. "There's a great big sign in front of the building that says this is the Durham Deaf Centre. It's heartless. Not only are you stealing from here, but the services that help those who are disadvantaged already," said DDC executive director Yvonne Brown. The break-in at the centre's King Street East location happened sometime on Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Like others in the social service sector, the DDC is dealing with a drop in funding because of the recession. "We're already in a tough situation. We're trying to overcome a lack of funding and we have this on our plate as well. We're struggling in a struggling time," Ms. Westlake said. "The damage done to the building, we'll have to pay someone to fix." Ms. Brown said the agency has insurance, but the deductible is $2,500, so it wouldn't be worth it to go through insurance. "It means we're out of pocket. This isn't something you budget for." Millwork Home Centre has donated a door to replace the one damaged, Ms. Westlake said. With the recession and the slump in manufacturing, fewer people are working and aren't able to donate to charities, Ms. Westlake said. "They may need services as well. The windows, the laptop and the already diminished funding. It's disappointing. Not only are we a charity, we're serving the disabled," Ms. Westlake noted. "They were looking for money or anything they could carry. My presumption is they were on foot. They didn't want to be seen walking with large items." The centre has between 500 and 800 clients, Ms. Brown noted. "It's not just the deaf or hearing impaired, it's hearing people as well. And there are those who come in looking for help." One service provided is sign-language lessons for parents of a newborn deaf child. There are also literacy programs for deaf and hearing impaired. Durham Regional Police Sergeant Nancy van Rooy said police went to the site for a break-in after a tenant in an apartment called to report credit cards had been stolen. The lock on a money box was broken and money taken, although it was primarily change, Sgt. van Rooy stated. Initially, it was thought two laptops were missing, but it was quickly determined that a staff member had one, so only one was taken, Sgt. van Rooy said. Anyone wanting to help out can call the centre at 905-579-3328 or use the TTY line of 905-579-6495. __________________

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