Pomona children's shelter seeking community support after burglary strips it of essentials

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Pomona children's shelter for foster kids and transitional youth was burglarized earlier this week, and the non-profit is now seeking help from the community.

It's the types of things that were stolen that has the founder of Bithiah's Family Services so perplexed.

"I mean, they cleaned out our cleaning supplies and our medical supplies, adult and teen clothing... but then they left the TV we use for trainings," said executive director Michelle Thompson.

"None of it makes sense. It's not something that you would feel in someone's eyes as valuable, but for us, it feels just crippling."

The Pomona Police Department received a report on Tuesday afternoon about a burglary on the 1000 block of S. Garey Ave. Thompson believes it happened sometime Monday night.

She suspects they used a portable children's rock climbing wall to climb towards the roof and make access through the attic, bypassing the alarm.

"The alarms didn't even go off because they got to it before they tripped the alarm," Thompson said.

Thompson said the estimated loss is approximately $5,000. They've reached out to the community on their Instagram page asking if the community can support them with toys, diapers and other supplies.

"(The police) asked us to make a list of all the items taken, and they filed a report, but beyond that, we're really just trying to use our community to generate support to really restock and recover," she said.