St Vinnies targeted by heartless thief

A heartless thief stole money from the Rockingham St Vincent de Paul Society last Wednesday, jeopardising emergency support provided by the organisation for the community’s most vulnerable citizens.

SVP spokeswoman Lucinda Ardagh said she could not confirm how much money was stolen but it would impact on the services it provided.

“Every dollar is vital and having money or goods stolen at any time from one of Vinnies shops means there is less directed to where it is needed most, which is helping people in WA,” she said.

Ms Ardagh said volunteers working in the store when the robbery took place had received support and were offered counselling.

“All of our Vinnies centres volunteers and staff are also provided with operational training and manuals on how to deal with incidents such as this and our volunteers are equipped to deal with this matter effectively,” she said.

Rockingham Salvation Army officer Darrell Wilson said it was a sad state of affairs when people stole from an organisation that existed to help others.

“There’s assistance out there and people can get assistance through the process,” he said.

Police are investigating the incident.

To donate to the SVP phone 13 18 12 or visit vinnies.org.au.