A Launceston homeless charity has been forced to cancel its Easter Sunday evening meal and shower service after thieves stripped the building of copper pipes in an overnight raid.
Shekinah House Inc, which operates from Gateway Baptist Church in Wellington Street, discovered the damage on Sunday morning, leaving the premises without running water.
“Every other piece of copper pipe has been removed – copper pipe that has been there for decades,” Shekinah House said via social media.
“This means that there is no way to bring water to the buildings and we cannot offer any access to anything at Shekinah House. We cannot flush a toilet, wash our hands, do dishwashing.”
The theft follows a similar incident last weekend when copper pipes connected to shower and laundry facilities were stolen.
While the organisation managed to restore those services within two days, the latest, more extensive theft has completely shut down operations.
The timing of the theft is particularly devastating, occurring on Easter Sunday when vulnerable community members would have been seeking support.
“To take away from charities that are funded by the generosity of the community, services provided day in day out by volunteers, and from being able to offer the most basic of services to some of the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in our community is disgraceful,” the charity said.
The organisation claims that similar thefts have been occurring throughout Launceston, affecting various properties beyond just the church.
The organisation has called on the public to come forward with information about the theft.
“If anyone has any indication of who may be responsible for the thefts or where the copper is then going, I’d urge you to contact police,” they said.
