Vandals caused extensive damage when they struck at a Vancouver nonprofit agency that provides resources for the deaf and hard of hearing communities.
The Tilikum Agency, formerly known as the Southwest Washington Center for Deafness and Hard of Hearing, was severely vandalized after a forced break-in, believed to have occurred Sunday night or early Monday morning.
Terese Rognmo, the agency’s CEO, said that she and her staff arrived Monday morning and found four doors with windows damaged and a broken window at the back of the building at 301 S.E. Hearthwood Blvd.
It appeared that the burglar, or burglars, first tried to break in the back window to gain entry. When they were unsuccessful, they broke a window on a back door and unlocked it.
It was the worst vandalism to the agency to date, Rognmo said, but it isn’t the first time.
Vandals wrote graffiti on the building’s windows May 6, and then on Aug. 24, two young boys threw rocks at the building, breaking a window.
“I really would prefer to say it’s not a targeted attack, but it’s been happening again and again,” Rognmo said of the vandalism. She added that Vancouver police told her the break-in and vandalism are probably not a one-off in the community.
Security cameras were put in place after the rock-throwing incident. But Rognmo said the vandals in the most recent spree damaged the cameras’ electronics system.
They entered three offices and damaged monitors, computers and video relay phone systems. They also damaged a video phone monitor in a community room. Rognmo said the video phones are crucial for those at the agency to communicate with people outside the building.
The vandals also threw papers, sliced office chairs and broke eyeglasses, she said.
“It seems like they were going to light a fire, but it didn’t work,” Rognmo said. She didn’t want to elaborate on the evidence, citing the police investigation.
A camera and USB stick were stolen, but no one’s files were taken.
“It seems like whoever broke in wasn’t interested in taking stuff but damaging stuff. It’s really hit us. Whoever has done this has shown no respect for us. It’s really hurt us,” Rognmo said.
The estimated cost of damages so far is at least $2,000, she said, for repairs and improvements. However, she expects the final cost to be $5,000 or more because of the technology repairs or replacements. And the nonprofit’s insurance doesn’t cover incidents of this nature; it will be stuck footing most of the bill.
“We are stuck. We do depend on state funding, but they don’t cover this kind of stuff,” Rognmo said.
The agency supports a large community of deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing people living in southern Washington by providing free service for those seeking assistance with hearing aids or other assistive devices, housing options, employment and more. The agency’s leadership, board of directors and operational staff are deaf.
It serves more than 125 clients per year in Clark, Cowlitz, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Yakima counties, as well as the Tri-Cities area.
Rognmo said she wants the agency to be a “safe, warm and welcoming place for the deaf and hard of hearing community.” She worries with the latest vandalism, however, that people won’t place their trust in the agency.
A GoFundMe account was set up to help with the cost of replacing damaged items not covered by insurance. But the agency is also accepting donations, such as computer monitors.
For now, the agency is boarding up the building’s windows and securing doors. It also plans to install a monitored security system.
