Family services office burglarized over weekend

The sign over the door says: “Home is where there is a heart that loves,” but the person or persons who went into the Belize City offices of the Family Services Division over the weekend must have left his at home. According to the Coordinator of Human Development, Brenda Stuart, thieves broke into the King Street office sometime between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Shortly before getting to work, Stuart says she got a call informing her of the bad news and telling her that not even burglar bars could have kept the intruders out.

Brenda Card Stuart, Coordinator, Human Development

“When I got here, I noticed that the bar on the door was pried open and part of the wooden door was broken and probably a small person was pushed through and they came in. And we found that computers were missing, printers, fans, clothing that we have that were donated to the division to give out. The service that are offered here, as you know, family services handles children that are abused, abandoned and neglected. And it really hurts me to see that with this type of service that we are trying to get out there, to children that someone would do this to us. We have been very fortunate in getting the support from the pubic that we want in regards to reporting abuse and neglect, abandonment. And I think what we need is more community support where if someone sees a group of people hanging around that they would call the police or call us.”

Q: “You were telling me as well that this isn’t the first time that something like this has happened here at this office?”

Brenda Card Stuart

“No, this is the first major break-in that I have experienced. Around the end of August we had a petty break-in and there were small things taken. That’s through a window and some bails of clothing. Before that we had an attempted break in. That was around the end of July and neighbors called and alerted us and I got out here around three o’clock in the morning. But we didn’t loose anything then.”

Stuart says the computer and printer were recently obtained through donations and were a critical part of the daily work of the Family Services Division. The verandah of the building, of which the Conscious Youth Development Program uses the lower flat, is a popular hangout spot for young people. Police say they do not have any leads in the case.