HOUSTON — A thief was caught on camera breaking into a women's recovery home in southeast Houston on the Fourth of July.
The break-in happened around 4:30 a.m. Monday at the Saving Grace Women's Home.
"He jumped our backyard fence and came up to the window ... pushed the window in and broke the lock," Saving Grace COO Michael Vecchio said.
Police are asking for help identifying and locating the man who was caught on camera.
Once he got in the house, the thief turned the camera around and went straight for the safe, to which he knew the combination.
While he was stealing the monetary donations, 16 women were asleep in the house. Fortunately, no one was injured.
"It's a sad desperate act for sure. This wasn’t a random house break-in, this was a targeted break-in where they wanted to steal the money that we had raised that is going towards helping more women," Vecchio said.
Saving Grace offers women who are going through addiction, abuse and homelessness free help for one year.
Vecchio said the safe was filled with money collected last weekend. The nonprofit survives on donations and the sale of crafts created by women staying at the home.
"We are fully funded by the generosity of those that donate to our mission. We produce our crafts throughout the week and hold fundraisers on the weekend for everyone that comes through the program," Vecchio said.
The break-in set them back but they're hopeful donors will step up to help them get through the rough patch.
"This is something that caught us by surprise (but it) didn’t catch God by surprise. He will find a way to continue our mission," Vecchio said.
Due to this break-in, the organization said it will invest in an alarm system and more security measures.
If you want to help Saving Grace, click here.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.