In Oakland, neighbors are trying to help neighbors following business break-ins and other crime.
Residents are rallying not only to show their support but to hopefully keep businesses from packing up and leaving after becoming targets.
A busted front door, broken glass, and $4,000 in damages and stolen tools left the owner of Nowheresville Tattoo in East Oakland feeling defeated.
"It is our community hangout spot," owner Paul Urich said. "The fear is that you are done. I think I had $200 in my bank account. I get a little teary eyed on that."
The break-in happened last Wednesday morning. Urich said a neighboring business saw four to five people in a black SUV break into the tattoo shop.
Urich’s fear quickly turned to motivation after a GoFundMe was unknowingly set up to cover the cost of the theft and repairs.
It quickly raised thousands more than the intended goal.
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"I felt the love," Urich said. "When you are having tough times, you question what you are doing sometimes. When everyone around you pitches in, you know you are doing the right thing."
Torrance Scott, owner of a local production company, was the person behind the crowdfunding campaign that raised the goal in 48 hours and then saw donations climb to over $3,000.
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"Regardless of what the story is right now in Oakland, there are still communities and there are still people that outweigh whatever you're hearing," Scott said.
They’re not alone. Last month, dozens of people came out to dine and donated more than $17,000 to alaMar Dominican Kitchen on Grand Avenue after a break-in put them at risk of closing for good.
Philomena Pizza is also seeing a boom in business after penning a last-resort letter to the community asking for help to address declining sales.
"This experience has reignited our engagement with the community and with many challenges still ahead we hope this supportive energy will persist," Philomena Pizza owners Michael Richard and Rachel Fenyves said in a statement. "We've learned from the community that they need us just as much as we need them."
