A University District center for homeless youths was burglarized in early February, and about $1,000 in donated gift cards was stolen.
The burglar entered through a ground-floor window into the office of Tyler Bauer, drop-in coordinator and caseworker for Street Youth Ministries (SYM), a faith-based service provider. The burglar stole a bundle of gift cards to Target, Fred Meyer and Payless Shoe Source from a box in the bottom of a drawer in Bauer's desk, he said.
"Not many kids come to our office," Bauer said.
SYM had recently moved its offices to a new location across the street from University Presbyterian Church, which hosts the youth facilities.
"Something that is a bit sinister about it is not many kids knew where I kept the gift cards," Bauer said. "It was surprising that they were in and out, and nothing else was taken."
"It was really pretty brazen," said Shane Day, a SYM volunteer who was working the night of the burglary. "They definitely knew what they were looking for."
According to Bauer, the police have no leads regarding the break-in. He declined to comment on whether he has any suspicions about who the burglar might be.
"We don't want to play police investigator. We really never do because it doesn't build good relationships," he said.
'Professional job'
The gift cards were stolen on Feb. 3 between 5 and 7:30 p.m. The screen and surrounding weather stripping were removed from the window.
Upon exiting through the window, the burglar replaced the screen but left the desk drawer open, Bauer said.
Although police dusted for fingerprints at the scene, Bauer is skeptical that this will produce any leads.
"It looked like it was relatively professionally done," said Bauer, who discovered the break-in upon returning to his office later that day. "If you're thinking ahead enough to put back everything so it doesn't look like a burglary happened, you're probably going to take your fingerprints into account."
Sending a message
The drop-in center closed its doors for two days following the break-in. The center is regularly open four days a week for youths through age 23 and provides meals, clothing and hygiene products, as well as use of shower and laundry facilities.
Approximately 25 to 60 youths use the drop-in center on a typical day of operation. Bauer estimates that between 500 and 600 kids utilize the service each year.
"[Shutting down the center] sends the clearest message to the kids that this kind of thing is definitely not going to happen," Bauer said. "The cool thing is that the kids have a sense that it's not OK. The kids are almost always more outraged than we are, and that's flattering."
"If it weren't for places like these, most of us wouldn't be able to eat. Everybody sits here and complains about their situation, and then one of them goes and rips off the place," said Stephanie, a youth who frequents the drop-in center.
Preventative measures
The Street Youth Ministries has acquired a new lockbox to store valuables, as well as inserting dowels in the windows as security measures against future burglaries.
Bauer plans to log the serial numbers of new gift cards to help track their use. This precaution could have aided in locating the thief if it had been done prior to the break-in, Bauer said.
"I think that in the U-District, especially,there has always been an understanding that we can get burned, and every once in awhile we do," Bauer said. "About every year or two something new will happen. There's a certain vulnerability that we value, and when you are vulnerable, there is always that chance that you can get taken advantage of."
Other break-ins
Several other University District faith-based organizations serving homeless youths have also been burglarized recently, including the Teen Feed program at University Street Ministries, from which a set of master keys was reported stolen.
Representatives from those organizations were not available for comment.
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