?The weekends are probably worst because we are not open in the afternoon. ?By the time we get here in the morning it is all gone.
Good Samaritans face threats and abuse for trying to stop thieves stealing from Salvation Army and the poor. By Andrew Limbe The continual brazen thefts of donated goods left outside Salvation Army?s Jackson Street store have staff riled up. Store manager Daniela Stamenkovic, pictured, said the thefts have been happening for the last two years. Despite people taking cell phone photos of the thieves and their vehicles and taking their licence plate numbers to police, there is apparently little that can be done to stop them. ?This has become a really big problem and we don?t know how to stop them,? Mrs Stamenkovic said. ?We need the public to help by calling police immediately. ?A couple of people have even approached the thieves, but they got angry, and it is not worth getting hurt for.? George Fidow of the Jackson Street St Vincent de Paul store echoed the sentiment. ?The thefts are also a continuous problem for us,? he said. ?There seems to be no way of stopping it so we just accept it and get on with business.? Meanwhile Mrs Stamenkovic said it should be commonsense that people do not take items outside the front of the store. ?That is stealing. ?If it is your front porch nobody can even step on to it. ?There needs to be some regulation brought in to clear this up. ?The weekends are probably worst because we are not open in the afternoon. ?By the time we get here in the morning it is all gone. ?One day we found a sofa in the middle of the street ? our window was randomly smashed ? socks have been thrown all over Jackson Street. ?They obviously don?t know what we do for the public and the community. ?We raise money for food banks, shelters and gambling centres. ?Why would they steal from us?? Mrs Stamenkovic?s work with the Sallies has helped her settle into her adopted country. ?I came here from Serbia I could not speak any English. ?I started working as a volunteer and now I am the manager. ?I basically learnt English from working here.?
