Ottawa non-profit furnishing homes for refugees ransacked, robbed overnight Tuesday

Ottawa charity for refugees robbed An Ottawa non-profit helping refugees furnish their homes is reeling after vandals tore through their store and stole a large number of items on Tuesday evening.

An Ottawa non-profit is reeling after vandals tore through their store and stole a large number of items sometime on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

House To Home is a charity focused on helping furnish homes for new refugees and immigrant families arriving in Ottawa. To date, it has helped close to 900 families get a start building a new life in the city.

Founder Suzi Shore Sauvé said thieves came in sometime during the night and tore up the store, taking everything from sets of new bed sheets, to televisions and dishes. Because of the break-in, donations are being delayed to families in need and new items are missing amid the mess.

"They made a huge mess everywhere and they stole a lot of things," Sauvé told CFRA 580 on Wednesday.

"Anything new that we had, they found."

Their office located in the Westgate Shopping Mall was ransacked and a safe was stolen along with sets of keys.

The Ottawa Police Service told CTV News that officers attended and collected evidence from the scene. The investigation is being undertaken by the OPS Break and Enter Unit, but could not provide more details at this time.

The charity posted the contents stolen to social media and say the clean-up is underway. The items currently missing include:

The charity says it is not insured for any of the stolen items.

"This has meant that two families are sleeping on the floor tonight because they did not get their furniture and beds and it’s a big hit for us," Sauvé said.

“Any financial help would be amazing, just being supportive, we need our community now, probably more that we ever did.”

More information on furniture or financial donations can be found at the House to Home website. The charity is also accepting donations by sending an email or e-transfer to [e-mail].