A bank card was stolen from an Eccles-based domestic abuse prevention charity.
The card was stolen on 24 November from Salford Survivor Project, and the thieves have since spent just under £130 from their account.
Jane Gregory, CEO of the project, usually carries the card and spends it on groceries and essentials for domestic abuse victims who seek her help, and was devastated to hear about the incident.
She said: “I panicked, I was upset, because it’s not my money, it’s for people who are in need.
“I was obviously a little angry, you are doing all this but taking advantage of people, but in this instance, you are taking advantage of the lowest denominators, the people who haven’t got anything.”
The founder of the project was shopping when the card got stolen.
“We’ve got a number of young women in temporary accommodation without hair products, so I went to buy hair dryers, but I got caught up in traffic and had a funeral to go to, so I couldn’t buy them in the end.
“Later, I went to Aldi in the Salford precinct with the card in my pocket and bought a few things with it.
“The next day, I went online and was going to order a few things and I couldn’t find my card. I checked my pocket because it’s usually the only thing in my pocket.”
She went to the trustees of the project who checked the account, they learned that there had been six separate contactless transactions to a meat company in Salford.
Gregory explained: “I know that I was in Aldi from 7:50 pm till 8:30 pm and around 8:50 pm was when they used the card.”
The project was set up in 2013, after the murder of two mothers, Leanne McNuff and Linzi Ashton, who were killed by their partners on separate occasions.
The money for the charity comes from locals in Salford through donations and fundraisers that are put on by the project.
They also provide legal advice, one to one support, crisis and long-term emotional support and have a helpline that is available seven days a week.
The Salford native mentioned: “People are starving in this country so I get it, I hope that the people who stole the money needed it.
“But we are a really small charity, I haven’t got funding this year to get wages and I have been doing it for 10 years, I can work 80 hours a week, and other volunteers are doing from 40 to 50 hours a week.
“We’ve got Christmas coming so £130 doesn’t sound like a lot but it is to us, but what’s sad is that £130 was given to us by people to provide for people who are in a crisis.”
With the festive period approaching, Gregory described the situation as stressful.
“We’ve got to change all the card details on the system, and for the people, it makes it more difficult to get emergency stuff to them when they need it immediately.
“We also have a new hub opening at a charity shop, we were going to get some water, biscuits, bacon, sausages for people that are coming in the morning.
“Obviously, I’m going to have to buy them now with my own money, but we would have used the card to provide refreshments, we can’t do that now.
“But more importantly, that could have been used for an emergency, like to pay for somebody’s accommodation for the night, to buy somebody’s food, or to pay for somebody’s gas and electricity.
“It’s just the worst time of the year to do that before Christmas.
“And the person that has taken this card and spent that, we would have helped them at any point, we never turn anyone away.”
The number for the Salford Survivor Project helpline is 0161 706 0468, they are open everyday from 10 am till 10 pm.
Images courtesy of Jane Gregory
