'It's pretty heartbreaking': Thieves and vandals target Pride signs, orange shirts

WARNING:This story contains distressing details.

Some people displayingorange shirts andPride Lives Here signs on their properties say these symbols of support for members of marginalized communities are becoming targets of hatred and vandalism.

Michel Dumont, a two-spiritartist in Thunder Bay Ont., said his Pride Lives Here sign was stolen from his yard lastyear.He put a new one in his window,but vandals targeted that oneon the weekend.

"I noticed that there was some broken glass in my front porch, and I took a look on the floor, and on the floor was my Pride Lives Here sign and two pieces of pavement that had been thrown through the window," Dumont said in an interview with CBC News.

"The person who threw the two big chunks of pavement through my front porch window were aiming directly at the Pride Lives Here."

Dumont said he was startled to find the broken window when he woke up on Aug.8, but also angry knowing he had been targeted once again due to the sign.

"It's a little disconcerting to know that there's that much hate in the world," he said. "The next time I have an argument with someone that homophobia is a thing of the past, I will get up on my high horse and say, 'No. It still is an everyday occurrence for many of us in this country.

"No matter how many rocks they throw at my window,Pride still lives here, and it will always live hereas long as I live here."

Borderland Pride launched the Pride Lives Here campaign last year, and it has spread to communities across the northwest.

Since then, other symbolic lawn signs and initiatives have started, such as placing orange T-shirts on doors and front steps to honour Indigenous children who were forced to attend residential schools in Canada.

That initiative gained support in May, after the remains of 215 children were detected on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.

Sydney Willoughby, a resident ofThunder Bay, said she has had two orange shirts stolen from outside her home, while other neighbours have had Pride Lives Here signs vandalized as well.

"It's pretty heartbreaking because people are trying their best to be themselves and trying to let other people know that they're a part of this community, but then you have these other like hateful people who make my community feel unwelcome," said Willoughby in an interview with CBC News.

Police encourage reporting incidents

Dumont said that when he reported the incident to police, he had concerns itwas not being taken seriously as a hate-motivated crime.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) said it was made aware on Aug. 8 of an incident in which an object was thrown through a window at a Pride Lives Here sign.

"A liaison officer with the Community Inclusion Team is reviewing the incident due to its potential as a hate-motivated crime. The officer will also be reaching out to the victim," said TBPS spokesperson Scott Paradis in an email.

Paradissaid the service's cadets are trained to note evidence of bias motivation and report it to their Community Inclusion Team for followup. He said TBPS has also been made aware of conversations on social media about similar incidents of what appears to be targeted vandalism.

"We take crimes that are potentially motivated by hate very seriouslyand strongly encourageanyone who was a victim of such a crime to come forward and make a report so that it can be thoroughly investigated."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

Do you have information about unmarked graves, children who never came home or residential school staff and operations? Email your tips to CBC's new Indigenous-led team investigating residential schools:WhereAreThey@cbc.ca.