June 18, 2022

The Gray House honors police for their service after recent break-in

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – In a ceremony on Friday, June 17, The Gray House honored the Springfield Police officers who responded to a recent break-in at the social service agency. Executive director Kristen McClintock, joined by staff members, presented certificates of appreciation to the officers who helped apprehend an individual who stole baby formula, diapers, food and other critical care items on May 25. The nonprofit, located on Sheldon Street in Springfield’s North End, serves 12,000 individuals in need each year.

“We wanted to honor them for their amazingly fast response time, for their thorough investigation which led to the person responsible being apprehended and just the care they took walking us through this,” said McClintock.

“This was very traumatizing for our agency and a very big deal to us. And the police have a lot on their plate. And they took the time to make sure we were safe and we knew what to do going forward,” she said.

The Gray House provides food, youth programming, and adult educational services to those living in poverty throughout the Greater Springfield community. The police were able to recover all of the items except the baby formula, which is in short supply nationwide.

In addition to the items taken, thousands of dollars of repairs are now needed because the building was damaged during the robbery. McClintock said she is grateful no one was hurt.

“They’ve been doing extra patrols every night, so we feel like the Gray House is a safe place again. It’s nice to honor and celebrate those who keep our community strong and safe,” McClintock said.

Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood said the ceremony was not expected but greatly appreciated. She said a simple thank you from the community helps to build morale among the ranks.

“All the officers I know, this is what they do, this is what they came on the job for, to help others, to protect others, to serve the community. This is just one example of the work the guys on midnights do and officers on days and evenings do. We love helping people,” said Clapprood.

The Gray House also presented K9 Dex with a bone for his help in the investigation.

 To make a donation to help support the mission and ongoing work of the non-profit agency, which incurred several thousand dollars’ worth of damage as a result of the robbery, go to grayhouse.org/donate/.