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Family scrambling to find options for son with special needs after van stolen

Click to play video: 'Calgary family searching for stolen van equipped to transport son with special needs'
Calgary family searching for stolen van equipped to transport son with special needs
WATCH: A Calgary family is pleading for answers after their van was stolen earlier this week. As Lauren Pullen reports, they rely on it to get their eight-year-old son with special needs around – Oct 25, 2018

A Calgary family is desperate for transportation options after the van they use to drive their son and his wheelchair was stolen from their home last week.

Calgary police confirmed to Global News a van was reported stolen on Oct. 17.

The 2006 blue Toyota Sienna was taken from the family’s garage in the city’s northwest, according to family friend Martiza Pino. A purse, along with the keys to the vehicle, was also taken.

Pino said the van is vital to the family, as they use it to get their son Sebastian — who has special needs — to school.

“What’s devastating to them [is] they are not able to transport this child,” she said. “The family is really suffering.”
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Pino said the family has been going through some financial hardship and the theft has added to an already heavy stress load.

“Nobody needs this right now,” she said.

A van similar to this blue Toyota Sienna was stolen from a family in northwest Calgary on Oct. 17. Contributed

The family’s insurance plan doesn’t cover theft, so a replacement vehicle is out of the question at the moment, she said.

Tatiana Nunez said the loss of the vehicle is sad for her family of five, adding she’s worried about how to get her son around the community.

“It’s very sad; it’s the only vehicle I have for transportation [for] my son… I don’t have anything…. it’s very, very sad,” Nunez said.
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Pino said the single-income family had been stockpiling money to modify the van with a ramp at a cost of $10,000. But with it gone, the family is scrambling.

“I am very sad, I can’t believe it. This happened here in Canada,” Nunez said. “I have [lived] 17 years here and I can’t believe it.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family purchase a new van that is wheelchair-accessible, Pino said.

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