I remember when I first moved to the Sunshine Coast from Calgary 16 years ago how people made fun of me for locking all the doors and windows when I left the house. I didn’t dare tell them I also locked the door behind me when I got home or that I locked my car doors as soon as I got inside. I was a city girl and I had learned to be untrusting.
After a few years on the Coast, I understood what they were getting at. The Sunshine Coast wasn’t a big city, full of faceless people who wished to do me harm. The Coast was a small rural area with familiar faces at every turn. It was a place where people asked how I was doing when they saw me and they actually cared about my answer.
It was a place where people routinely left their doors open with no concern of robbery and where citizens could sell flowers and eggs at the end of their driveways without worry of theft.
Soon I started to brag to my big city friends about the trusting utopia I had found. I let myself believe we were nicer here, kinder here and perhaps even more moral than those city dwellers I no longer counted myself among.
Sure, we had our share of petty thefts and drunken fights, but we weren’t bad people, and we all ultimately cared about our community, right?
Wrong. In my vision of the Sunshine Coast, none of us would have ever stolen a donation jar full of cash meant to help injured and orphaned animals. But that’s what happened last weekend at a fundraiser for the Gibsons Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
Someone checked their conscience at the door and helped themselves to about $350 while Irene Davey’s back was turned.
When I heard about the incident, I was shocked. It didn’t fit my view of things here and I was instantly angry at the thief for what he or she had done. Thankfully Coasters came to the rescue and donated more than before to top up what was lost, reaffirming my long-held belief that Coasters care.
But that theft has stuck with me, making me wonder, have things here changed?
I’ve been a reporter on the Coast since 1999 and I’ve never written about a theft from a charity before.
The truth is, lots has changed in the last 16 years. The cost of living and eating on the Coast has skyrocketed, as has the cost of travel, while wages have stayed stagnant in many cases. Not having enough money can often lead to crime.
I don’t know what was going on in that person’s life when he decided to steal the wildlife centre’s donation jar. Maybe he hadn’t eaten for days or couldn’t make rent this month. Maybe she has an addiction that has taken over her life.
My guess is something bad led to this bad decision, but here’s the ironic thing: if that person is struggling, there’s help on the Coast that’s only an ask away.
We have all kinds of programs and supports in place to help those in need, not to mention hundreds of citizens who actually care and would give freely of their time or money if asked.
While some things have changed, the Coast is still that loving, giving and supportive place I’ve come to admire and brag about. We just need to learn to lean on each other once in a while and to ask for help when we need it.
