VICTORIA – A Ladysmith family, struggling to provide around-the-clock support for their special needs son, says their pleas for help have been ignored by Community Living B.C.

This comes in the wake of a major shake-up at CLBC, the firing of the CEO, and a pledge by the province to make things right.

The family says that pledge must not have included them, because they were repeatedly denied care – that is until CTV News stepped in.

Just weeks away from his 22nd birthday, Daryl Holzman requires 24 hour care.

Simple tasks, such as emptying the dishwasher, require constant supervision.

“Daryl lives with autism,” his mother Bobbi-Jo Marshall tells CTV News “He has a physical and mental handicap. He’s quite a happy boy and quite large – over 300 pounds and because of health and safety reasons, he needs 24 hour care.”

It’s care that has been provided by family members. But recently his grandmother, his primary caregiver, became ill and was unable to care for Daryl.

The family says for two years it has been looking for help from Community Living B.C. (CLBC).

“In 2009 when we first went to them we were looking into group homes,” says Marshall “As we were told recently all the group homes are being closed and we were told that home sharing is the wave of the future.”

Last week the family was denied help. It says no reason was given for the denial.

Living paycheque to paycheque, including a mortgage on their home, the family explained to a CLBC case worker the stress, financially and emotionally, could break up the family.

Marshall says she was shocked by what the CLBC case worker said next.

“I explained my situation that our jobs were in jeopardy and that we might lose our home. The caseworker told us that is exactly what is expected of us. For me to qualify I was to lose my job, lose my home, move to an apartment and then they may look at us.”

Marshall says the comment did not end there “She says if my husband was to leave me, I could look at it as a kind of loophole in the system. I could go on welfare and the government would pay me to stay home with Daryl during the day and there would never be a work expectation put on me.”

We asked the interim CEO of CLBC what he thought of the comment.

“If those words were actually said by our staff I would be extremely concerned,” Doug Woollard tells CTV News. He says he is asking staff to investigate.

CTV News began asking questions about Daryl’s case this early Wednesday morning. By early afternoon the Marshall family received the news they had been looking for two years; CLBC was reversing its earlier decision.

CLBC says it decision to re-evaluate had nothing to do with our story.

The Marshall family is not so sure. It says its fight is not over and will now turn its attention to helping families in similar situations.

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