A nonprofit after-school program in Jackson is dealing with vandalism for the second time in five months.Albert Wilson, executive director of Genesis and Light Center, showed 16 WAPT News surveillance video that captured the incident.“She comes walking up to the property here. Here she is tearing up this sign, beating it, trying to tear it off, and does tear off the sign,” Wilson said. “Bending it back and forth, stepping on it and now she walks off, then she stops and talks. But (there isn’t anybody) out there, so she’s still talking to herself.”The woman was caught on camera Thursday, slashing at an electric sign and pulling a metal one out of the concrete.“She took great effort to try and tear it down; stepping on it and bending it down until it finally broke,” Wilson said.Bent fencing, stolen property, damaged signage and mounted porch plants were the latest casualties that forced Wilson to spend what he said is unnecessary money that should go toward the business that serves as a safe haven for troubled youth. “Unnecessary — and we’ve got so much necessary work we need to do with our youth, our seniors, the community,” Wilson said. “The things that we are doing to make our community better and make the poverty-stricken environments better.”Wilson said he wants thieves to be held accountable, but he also wants family members to check on loved ones that could be going through something. “If you know your cousin or your mom, your sister, whoever, (is) out here in this community who have mental illness, just get them checked in, get them back on their medicine, get them some help before they get hurt out here, because when police officers run across these people, they don’t know their condition,” Wilson said.Wilson says despite his frustrations, his heart for serving the community at Genesis and Light Center hasn’t changed. “When you’re doing great work and you’re doing something to benefit and help the community, and help our kids in a poverty-stricken community, there’s always some kind of destruction or distraction that’s more of what it is to keep us from doing the kind of work that we’re doing,” Wilson said.Last year, Genesis and Light Center was targeted by thieves after someone cut the catalytic converters from three of their buses.
A nonprofit after-school program in Jackson is dealing with vandalism for the second time in five months.
Albert Wilson, executive director of Genesis and Light Center, showed 16 WAPT News surveillance video that captured the incident.
“She comes walking up to the property here. Here she is tearing up this sign, beating it, trying to tear it off, and does tear off the sign,” Wilson said. “Bending it back and forth, stepping on it and now she walks off, then she stops and talks. But (there isn’t anybody) out there, so she’s still talking to herself.”
The woman was caught on camera Thursday, slashing at an electric sign and pulling a metal one out of the concrete.
“She took great effort to try and tear it down; stepping on it and bending it down until it finally broke,” Wilson said.
Bent fencing, stolen property, damaged signage and mounted porch plants were the latest casualties that forced Wilson to spend what he said is unnecessary money that should go toward the business that serves as a safe haven for troubled youth.
“Unnecessary — and we’ve got so much necessary work we need to do with our youth, our seniors, the community,” Wilson said. “The things that we are doing to make our community better and make the poverty-stricken environments better.”
Wilson said he wants thieves to be held accountable, but he also wants family members to check on loved ones that could be going through something.
“If you know your cousin or your mom, your sister, whoever, (is) out here in this community who have mental illness, just get them checked in, get them back on their medicine, get them some help before they get hurt out here, because when police officers run across these people, they don’t know their condition,” Wilson said.
Wilson says despite his frustrations, his heart for serving the community at Genesis and Light Center hasn’t changed.
“When you’re doing great work and you’re doing something to benefit and help the community, and help our kids in a poverty-stricken community, there’s always some kind of destruction or distraction that’s more of what it is to keep us from doing the kind of work that we’re doing,” Wilson said.
Last year, Genesis and Light Center was targeted by thieves after someone cut the catalytic converters from three of their buses.
