Exeter, R.I. Sometime between
the evening of September 24th and the morning of September 25th,
thieves broke into a construction trailer for South County Habitat
for Humanity, stealing over $20,000 in tools and equipment. Habitat
recently started construction of a duplex home in Exeter and the
theft was discovered Tuesday morning when crews showed up to work on
the house. The theft not only causes an unplanned financial burden
for the organization, but also creates a delay in construction of the
home for two families in need of decent and affordable housing.
“It’s very disheartening when something like this
happens” said Colin Penney, Executive Director at South County
Habitat for Humanity. “It makes a tremendous impact on our efforts of
helping families find affordable housing in the area. It’s hard to
build a house without any tools or equipment for our volunteers to
use, but we are focused on minimizing the delay and impact on these
two families that the house is for.”
To replace the stolen tools and equipment as quickly as
possible, South County Habitat has launched a fundraising program to
help purchase replacement equipment.
Most of the stolen tools and equipment were marked with
“SCHH” on them. We encourage anyone with information about the stolen
tools and equipment to contact Trooper Lanoie at the Rhode Island
State Police, Hope Valley Barracks, 401-444-1068.
South County Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to
eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through
constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for
fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access
to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. For
more general information, call 401-213-6711 or go to our website at www.southcountyhabitat.org.
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