Trailer with food, supplies for homeless people stolen, Charlotte nonprofit says
A trailer used to feed unhoused people in Charlotte has been reported stolen.
Block Love Charlotte executive director Deborah Woolard said she noticed the parking space for the 7-by-14-foot enclosed trailer was empty when she arrived at the nonprofit’s warehouse last week.
“I don’t know who, why, what their rhyme or reason was, all I know is our trailer is gone, ya’ll,” Woolard said in a Facebook livestream. “I’m at a loss for words.”
The trailer, named “Black Beauty,” was reported stolen on Monday, July 11, around 10:28 p.m. from the warehouse on North Graham Street, Woolard said. The trailer is trimmed in chrome and has a map of North Carolina in the top left corner of the back, with “nctrailers.com” stamped within the map.
Block Love posted security camera footage from neighboring businesses that show a white pickup truck driving off with the trailer.
Inside the trailer were tents, sleeping bags, blankets, toiletries, fans, heaters, a printer, canopies, clothes, canned goods, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and business supplies including signage, Woolard told The Charlotte Observer.
Woolard said she filed a police report but has not received any updates from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
Block Love canceled a trip to help feed the unhoused population in Raleigh, and Woolard said she anticipates the nonprofit will have enough donations left to cover a planned trip to Houston. If the trailer is not returned by then, Block Love might rent a vehicle, she said. Still, Block Love will continue its daily food services.
The public is asked to be on the lookout for the trailer, especially in online marketplaces. Shelving installed by Samet Corp. employees last year might stand out from similar trailers for sale online, the nonprofit said.
Block Love still plans to kick off a sleeping bag drive for homeless people in Charlotte, Raleigh and Houston. The nonprofit will collect sleeping bags until Oct. 8, when its annual, two-night Up All Night Sleep Out begins. With a goal of collecting 500 sleeping bags — and several still in the missing trailer — Block Love has “some catching up to do,” Woolard said.
“If people can love, like, and share our social media posts about the missing trailer, we’d greatly appreciate it,” she said.
There is also a gofundme for a new trailer and replacement supplies.
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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