YWCA Greater Austin Offices In South Austin Burglarized During Thanksgiving Break

AUSTIN, TX — It's a terrible feeling of violation to return to one's home after the holidays to find the place has been burglarized. Yet sadly that's what occurred at the YWCA Greater Austin offices in South Austin over the Thanksgiving holiday break.

In a telephone interview with Patch, YWCA Greater Austin Executive Director Angela-Jo Touza-Medina said a staffer arrived on Monday after the holiday to find the offices at 2015 South Interstate 35 ransacked.

All told, thousands of dollars were taken from the offices in the form of cash and property. Staff now face additional expenses to better secure the building, including needing to change the door locks after all the spare keys were stolen and installation of surveillance equipment.

"They got into our cash box," Touza-Medina said with palpable lament. The cash represented fees collected for those participating in counseling sessions as well as donations. "Now, we'll have to have a bolted-down safe."

Police were immediately called, she said. But given a lack of surveillance cameras at the building that houses the YWCA offices, no image of the perpetrator(s) is available. Touza-Medina noted offices of the state comptroller's office located in the building also were hit, and several pieces of mail were taken.

Still, she chose to see a positive light in that no one was at the offices at the time of the break-in — a common occurrence given that staffers often drop in voluntarily to finish up on work on their off days or get a jump on the week ahead.

"That's the miracle," she said. "People come in on weekends to work."

She expounded on that point in a newsletter post to patrons: "We are grateful, however, that despite the trauma that losing our sense of safety entails, none of our staff or clients were physically harmed."

Despite the incident, she and her staff are undeterred, she said, and will continue their important mission of empowering women and girls in the region rather than succumbing to fear. Accomplished through a variety of offerings designed to empower their clients, the mission of empowerment continues as the organization nears its 110th year of service to the community.

"Despite this setback we will continue to promote the health and safety of women and girls, their economic development and advancement and racial justice and civil rights," Touza-Medina vowed.

Still, the encroachment has heightened the need to reach out to the community for support.

Those wishing to help the YWCA Greater Austin can arrange to make a one-time or recurring donation by -clicking here. Amazon shoppers also can choose to make the YWCA Greater Austin a recurring beneficiary of Cyber Monday and other Amazon purchases through Amazon Smile.

Those needing more information on the incident or offering other ways to help can call (512) 326.1222.

>>> Image via Shutterstock