A charity providing ‘lifeline’ food parcels to people across Greater Manchester is now looking for a new base after it has been targeted by three acts of vandalism in recent months.
Last month, volunteers at Humans MCR discovered the locks to its food distribution centre on Crossley Street in Gorton had been glued shut.
A similar incident also took place in December last year.
When volunteers went to open up the centre last Monday (February 1), they discovered the ‘strange’ vandalism had happened yet again.
Lewey Hellewell, a co-founder of the organisation, said he is confused as to why it keeps happening.
“It’s been awful,” Lewey tells the Manchester Evening News .
“We’re not sure what the substance was as it looked like glue but it wasn’t fully set.
"It was just smeared over the two locks - the whole thing is weird.”
The incident happened a day before the organisation was due to get new CCTV facilities installed, which had been provided by a local resident following the previous vandalism.
While the mess was quickly cleaned up and the charity was able to open up a few minutes later, Lewey said they have now been left with no choice but to find new premises.
“It didn’t really delay us by more than ten minutes but it did change the way we’re thinking,” he adds.
“It’s made us realise that it’s just too much of a risk for it to continue on happening.
"We have decided we are going to move and are now looking for a new location.”
The charity operates as a delivery-based service, reaching out to around 500 customers a week, and says it can be flexible in terms of location but is ideally hoping to find a suitable base in Longsight, Ardwick, Levenshulme or Gorton.
“We were planning on moving later this year anyway,” Lewey explains.
“But this has just kind of brought all of that forward and means that we’re kind of in a rush now while still in the middle of a pandemic.”
While the organisation has been inundated with suggestions, their search has so far proven to be unsuccessful.
“We’ve reached out to a few people but we’re struggling,” Lewey explains.
“Some agents have changed their tone when they’ve asked what we do and what our operation is.
“We talk about the terms and then as soon as I mention we’re a charity and run a food bank on wheels, the call tends to end abruptly - i'm not sure why.
"I've had a couple of agents promise to get back to me and they never have.
“But, we’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received and we’re hoping we will be able to find somewhere new soon.”
The space, which will be used purely for storage and distribution, will ideally be around 500 sq ft with access for loading and unloading alongside a couple of parking spots.
Anyone with suggestions on suitable vacant properties can reach out to info@humansmcr.org .
