FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
"It hurts so much to see my friends not go out, nothing. It hurts me. And I don't like that," Paul Mello, who has Down Syndrome, said.
Mello looks forward to going to the "United Cerebral Palsy of Central California" chapter everyday and hanging out with his friends.
But on Thursday, a lot of them weren't there.
"For these people not to have the opportunity to come here, everybody has a routine and a schedule, and for them to not know why they didn't get picked up this morning, it breaks my heart because they're probably wondering why no one came to get them this morning. What happened?" Susan Stenberg-Wilson, with the "United Cerebral Palsy of Central California" Chapter, said.
Employees at the "United Cerebral Palsy of Central California" chapter came to work Thursday morning only to find the tires on their cars, vans and buses had been slashed.
That means all the people who rely on transportation to get there were shut out.
"I don't think they have an absolute clue what they did. It's disgusting. The people that we serve here, these people have the ability to slash a tire, not knowing that the person that couldn't get in that car this morning can't even put their own shirt on," Stenberg-Wilson said.
About 120 clients with Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism, spinal cord injuries and head traumas rely on the "United Cerebral Palsy of Central California" chapter for everything from learning skills to seeing friends and having fun.
"It makes me good. I can act, sing, everything," Michael Taylor, who has Down Syndrome, said.
"This is the most stability these people have in their entire lives. They come here and they have a community. This is a family," Stenberg-Wilson said.
Not only did the vandals cause about $2,000 in damage, but the already under-funded organization also lost out on program fees from those students stuck at home.
"It's just very disheartening, makes me very angry that someone would come along into a place like this and basically kick the crutches out from under us," Stenberg-Wilson said.
For Paul Mello, he just looks forward to seeing all of his friends again.
"I hope they figure out why they cut our tires. That's our only transportation. That makes me angry," Mello said.
Employees at "UCP" say all of the vans were repaired and back in use in time to take clients home Thursday.
But they did take a big financial hit.
If you'd like to help out, you can call (559) 221-8272.
All donations are tax deductible.
