Thousands of dollars worth of gift cards stolen from N.S. non-profit for veterans

Someone broke into a Nova Scotia veterans charity and stole thousands of dollars worth of gas and groceries cards.

A Nova Scotia non-profit for veterans says a thief stole thousands of dollars worth of gift cards from its Dartmouth building over the weekend.

VETS Canada, which provides supports for veterans across the country, said someone threw a rock through the glass door of their building to break in and steal a lockbox that contained more than $2,000 worth of grocery and gas cards.

“They had left the door propped open with another rock. So, I’m assuming their intention was to come back at a later time. So, it’s lucky that we came in when we did,” said Vets Canada CEO Debbie Lowther.

“It’s really disheartening to think that the people that put their lives on the line to support our country, you know, we’re doing our best to support them and then something like this happens and it’s, you know, it’s really unfortunate.”

Lowther says the organization has helped more than 4,000 veterans to date, including members of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP.

“What people don’t realize about veterans is unless you served, you know, 20 years or more than ten, you don’t get a pension. So, a lot of our clients did serve less than ten years, so they’re not getting a pension,” said Lowther.

“Transition from the military is difficult and, you know, it leads people to crisis situations… and that’s what we’re here to help with."

Halifax Regional Police says the investigation is still in its early stages.

“Any and all information, will be considered and, but yes, as I mentioned, to date, there’s not been any arrests,” said Const. Martin Cromwell, with the Halifax Regional Police.  

The incident comes at a time when the CEO says demand for their services is at an all-time high.

“We don’t receive a lot of government funding. So, we do rely on donations. We have a tight budget and so, you know, losing thousands of dollars of grocery cards really has an impact,” said Lowther.

VETS Canada says its donations are down by nearly 50 per cent and it is calling on people to help.

The organization started in 2010 to help homeless veterans but has since expanded to providing financial and mental health support.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Vanessa Wright.

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