Shock and anger is being expressed in a Cape Breton community after a facility for adults with disabilities was the target of an apparent arson overnight Saturday.

The suspicious fire at the Haley Street Adult Services Centre in North Sydney has police and fire marshal’s investigating, and neighbouring organizations already stepping up to lend a helping hand.

Debra MacLean, Haley Street Adult Services Centre’s director was vacationing in New York when she received an early morning phone call with the shocking news.

“I’ll be honest, myself and the members of my management team are here in New York, and we all sat and cried this morning when we heard the news, because, it just hurts,“ said MacLean from New York.

Police say the fire was called in at about 4:20 a.m. Saturday morning.

Police and the fire marshal’s office spent Saturday combing the scene, focusing their efforts on Martell Hall.

The building is home to a program providing leisure and recreational activities to those with complex needs, a program that is temporarily on hold until new accommodations are found.

“It’s a shame, our hearts go out not only to the clients, but their families and friends,” says Stephen Tobin of the Horizon Achievement Centre, a facility for adults with disabilities that is located just down the highway in Sydney.

Tobin says that Horizon Achievement Centre will be doing whatever they can to help Haley Street during their time of need.

“If there’s anything we can possibly do to support them, we absolutely will,” says Tobin. “We know the importance that this plays in the clients lives every single day, it’s not just a place to go, it’s a defining purpose for a lot of the clients.”

Fire officials say the building suffered a significant amount of heat, smoke and fire damage, but not much in terms of structural damage.

It will take some time before things are back to normal at Haley Street, but staff say they will bounce back.

“For the people that we’re supporting, this is going to be devastating, because they won’t be able to fathom why someone would target us. It just isn’t within our scope to talk like that, or thing like that,” says MacLean.

“It’s an incredibly, incredibly important facility that we have to ensure gets back up and running as soon as possible,” adds Tobin.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Cape Breton Regional Police.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.