Charity Organization De Helpende Handjes in Roosendaal Suffers Second Break-In in a Week: Wedding Dresses, Sportswear, and Food Taken

She has no good word for the perpetrators. “They pound out the door frame and that makes me furious. If they asked nicely, they would get everything. I help them,” says Beierlein, who is now considering stopping completely.

The Helping Hands has been around for years. All kinds of second-hand goods are collected and distributed to people living in poverty.

For five years, the charity was located in the Kalsdonk district. It has been in the Burgerhout district since January, in an old school building on Norbartlaan that had been empty for years and, according to Beierlein, was previously home to junkies and bums.

“They have already turned everything upside down. They have now taken what they had collected last time but left it behind. We think it concerns three perpetrators who come by bicycle. They only take what they can carry. Hats scarves.”

Because of the theft, Beirlein has to disappoint people again. “The stuff had already been assigned. People were supposed to come and get clothes and coffee creamer, but it’s gone again. And why? Joost knows what those thieves have to do with wedding clothes.”

Jennifer thinks the perpetrators may be roaming the streets themselves. Beierlein is in talks with someone who may want to donate an alarm system. “If that doesn’t come, I’ll stop. The municipality puts us in this building, but refuses to help us with such an alarm system. The camera system was already stolen last time. I will no longer file a report, because the police already said that This dilapidated building lends itself to burglary.”

The thieves must know that they are breaking into a good cause, she says angrily. “There is a huge sign here with De Helpende Handjes on it. They are undoubtedly amateurs, they have drunk cans of energy drinks and eaten bonbons here. The neighbors of the houses opposite are paying extra attention, but have not seen anything.”

At the end of this year, the former school will be demolished anyway because apartments will be built. The building became temporarily available through a donor, but Beierlein believes that the municipality should have helped her find a building in a better location. “And then the police say that this building where we are now is asking for a burglary. That makes me so angry.”

READ ALSO: Burglars steal The Helping Hands from items for low-income families