Building materials taken from Ha…

When roofers arrived at the Wilson Area Habitat for Humanity’s latest home project Tuesday morning, shingles for the new roof that were left out on Monday were missing. Overnight, the Lincoln Street construction site had been hit with its third theft in just a matter of weeks.

“Originally the gas line wires were stolen,” Wilson Area Habitat for Humanity Director Suzanne Coker Craig said on Friday. “A few days after that, when they put the wiring in the house, somebody came in and stole all the wiring out of the house. You’re never pleased about that. I know things get stolen from construction sites, even though we’ve never had that happen. The kicker was this week.”

Coker Craig said she drove by the property Monday and saw the shingles for the new roof outside the home. Everything looked fine, she said.

“Tuesday, most of them were gone,” Coker Craig said. “Someone took 48 bundles of shingles. We had to go replenish those. That was about $1,800. So I guess somebody got a cheap roof.”

Rewiring the house, she said, is costing Habitat for Humanity $1,600.

“I know whoever stole that wiring didn’t get anywhere close to $1,600 for what they did,” Coker Craig said. “They probably got a small fraction of that at best. That’s an extra $3,500 or so that we’re having to pay for that doesn’t give any value to anybody.”

Coker Craig said the impact of the theft isn’t just on the nonprofit’s shoulders.

“When you steal from Habitat for Humanity, you’re stealing from the community,” Coker Craig said. “We don’t get government funding. We don’t have a huge source of income. Our donations come from the community. We do get a few grants, but every house we do, we are tight on our budget. We try to do the best for our homeowners. Our goal is to keep building costs down because those costs get passed on to the homeowners.”

Coker Craig said she doesn’t know if insurance will cover the theft, and if it does, would it be worth it to use the insurance if it means increased premiums?

“We’re not sure what we’re going to do at this point,” Coker Craig said. “We’re hoping we don’t have anything else stolen. We’ve got the house locked up. Big materials, though, you can’t necessarily put inside. You don’t really have that option.”

Coker Craig said the mother and daughter duo receiving the home are aware of the thefts but aren’t concerned about the area they’ll soon call home.

“They seem OK with the area,” Coker Craig said. “I think they’ll be fine. It’s just a construction site. Nobody’s here. We’re hopeful that this area is getting better, and I think it is. We wouldn’t be putting a Habitat family here if we didn’t think it was an OK area. We’re pretty picky about where we put people. We’ve had this lot now for a few years.”

After Tuesday, Coker Craig said she filed a police report. She is encouraging anyone with information about the theft to step forward. To contact Coker Craig, email [email protected].