It doesn’t get much lower than stealing from those in need.
A White Rock-based charity, which last year expanded into Langley, that serves one of the community’s most basic functions – providing food for people who can’t afford it – has been victimized not once, not twice, but three times within a 72-hour span this month.
Sources Community Resource Centres, which began serving Langley as the community’s only accredited food bank last year and now has a roster of nearly 600 clients, was robbed of $1,000 in gift cards on Dec. 10.
That crime was quickly followed by the theft and subsequent destruction of their only working vehicle – a rather distinctive looking cube van. But thieves still weren’t done, racking up $1,300 worth of charges on the agency’s gas card.
And if stealing bread from the mouths of the community’s most vulnerable members wasn’t bad enough, this all happened a mere two weeks before Christmas.
Sadly, this type of crime – at this time of year – is not uncommon. It seems that nearly every year these types of heartless crimes find their way onto newscasts and newspaper front pages, be it a theft from Salvation Army kettles, break-ins at local Christmas bureaus or, as in this case, food banks.
There’s not a lot of point in trying to publicly disgrace the individuals who commit these crimes – as it can be assumed, considering their actions, that they have no sense of shame.
What matters now is that the food bank gets the help it needs to get up and running at – or as close to – capacity as possible, and soon.
But looking on the positive side, if one can do so in such a situation, there is little doubt that the community, as it so often does, will step up and help, be it donating gift cards and groceries, or lending Sources a large enough van so deliveries can continue.
Not unlike the residents of Dr. Seuss’s Whoville, members of the community must band together against these Grinches, and support those who need it the most.
Such strength is the only way to ensure everyone has a Merry Christmas.