ESL Salvation Army site in ESL battling repeated break-ins
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Mo. - The Salvation Army of St. Clair County location in East St. Louis has been the target of repeated break-ins.
The agency reports that more than a dozen break-ins have occurred in the past few months. The site is located at 616 N 16th Street.
“It looked like a tornado had hit through here,” said Capt. Kenneth Jones, a corps officer overseeing the Salvation Army in St. Clair County.
He said the East St. Louis site, located in a former community center, has been operating as a weekly food pantry.
Those operations are suspended while repairs can be made.
“The things that are being taken are the very same things that we are trying to use to provide for the community,” Jones said.
He said the R3 Development, a nonprofit based in East St. Louis, helped board up windows.
A community effort to secure the building is scheduled for September 6 with help from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. The Salvation Army is seeking volunteers to assist.
Donations can be made to The Salvation Army.
Anthony Bond is president of the Nu Chi chapter of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
He said the local chapter was working with The Salvation Army to share space in the building before it was damaged.
The Nu Chi chapter hopes to eventually use some of the space to provide community support through The Project Uplift Foundation.
“We’re all based on community service to our community and the youth of this community that we serve,” Bond said.
Jones said surveillance images from the break-ins have been shared with authorities.
