CINCINNATI — Just days after three donations trucks at St. Vincent de Paul were damaged and burglarized, the organization said a fourth truck was damaged in a second vandalism incident over the weekend.
The organization said the first incident was discovered the morning of July 11; because of the damage to the three trucks initially vandalized, officials said roughly 60 donation pick-ups were missed.
Then, on Monday, the organization said a fourth truck was damaged in the overnight hours on Saturday, July 12.
St. Vincent de Paul said a window of the fourth damaged truck was broken outside of the Este Avenue thrift store location, though nothing of value was in the truck when it happened.
Kaytlynd Lainhart, vice president of external affairs, said the trucks move everything that allows them to charitably serve the community.
"We are deeply saddened that our ability to serve our neighbors has been interrupted," said Lainhart in a press release sent Monday. "Damage and theft such as this puts us out of resources, staff time and the ability to pick up donations and ultimately serve our community."
According to the press release, St. Vincent de Paul is no stranger to having its trucks targeted; in the last two years, the organization said it has experienced 26 incidents in which 12 different vehicles were damaged or burglarized. The damage has ranged from smashed windows to catalytic converter theft to locks being completely cut off.
The thefts have cost the organization over $10,000 over time, the press release said.
"We have taken precautions such as adding cameras, putting cages around batteries, moving smaller vehicles inside and investing in new locks," said Lainhart. "We are currently working on addition additional lighting and fencing, hiring off-duty police officers to monitor our property and other precautions we don't want to publicize."
Lainhart said the damage has impacted the organization's ability to collect donations, but the security enhancements St. Vincent de Paul must now implement also takes away from funds that otherwise could have been used to help someone in Cincinnati pay their utility bills.
Donations can be directed to the SVDP website, and any purchase made at the region's thrift stores would help them recoup costs, Lainhart said.
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