The theft of a three-quarter ton Dodge pick-up truck has crippled Thunder Bay Habitat for Humanity, says the organization’s CEO.
The truck was stolen late Friday night at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore location on Squier Street. Habitat uses the truck to haul a trailer.
The ReStore makes up 50 per cent of the not-for-profit’s budget but since the truck was stolen, all operations have come to a halt.
CEO Diane Mitchell said they have completely stopped all de-construction projects, salvages, pickups and deliveries. She said she has no idea why anyone would steal that truck.
“It’s absolutely critical we have that truck,” she said.
“Without being able to do salvages and deconstructions it takes away a big part of the merchandise that we have in our ReStore. It provides a lot of the items that go into our ReStore. Without that we have no income at the ReStore. Without that we have no income to run Habitat for Humanity. We’re all just in shock.”
The ReStore is going through construction so the truck, which is estimated to cost $50,000 to $70,000, was kept in the back. Although the area has a fence, the gate wasn’t locked.
Mitchell said they kept the gate unlocked because it needed to be clear so construction trucks could get through.
Whoever stole the truck knew what they were doing, as they were able to start the vehicle without a key and knew how to unhinge it from its trailer in a relatively short amount of time, she said.
“If we get the truck recovered we have insurance that will cover fixing it back up,” she said.
“The worst case scenario is if we don’t find the vehicle in 30-days we get paid out for the age of the vehicle, which isn’t going to give us enough money to be able to purchase a new vehicle. That leaves us in a real pickle.”
Anyone with information about the truck’s location is asked to contact Thunder Bay Police.
