Formerly homeless man with autism creates free treasure hunting group in Lake Cowichan
Andrew is wearing a pirate patch over his right eye and carrying two big bags on his back. This is not the path he expected to be walking now, especially after his early academic success.
“I skipped three grades,” Andrew says. “Seven, eight, and nine.”
Andrew was told his I.Q. was very high, and his math marks were the best. They also said he had autism.
“I hear all the conversations at once,” he says gesturing all around us.
When I say that must overwhelming, he nods his head in agreement. “Always.”
There are many more things, like filling out forms. Andrew says it’s so challenging to do it, he’s missed out on opportunities for support. He says it led to a life without a home and little food.
“My physical body started deteriorating,” he says, with tears welling. “Every day it got harder to work because I would hurt and then I would have problems because I would have to carry everything.”
Andrew says he carried the physical and emotional weight of having all his belongs on his back for years, but never alleviated it with drugs or alcohol. After eventually finding a stable home and a loving relationship, Andrew realized there was one thing he did crave: an Easter egg hunt.
“I really just wanted one to be a kid again,” he says. “Just for a day.”
That led Andrew to wonder if he could find the same feeling of unbridled joy with an expanded scavenger hunt instead:
“Why don’t I do it for the community?!”
After a lifetime of facing his own obstacles, Andrew started capitalizing on the advantages of his autism to help others.
“I want to make sure that kids who don’t have money and moms who might not have enough to do extras can show-up with no barriers,” he says.
Andrew used his unique abilities to find a way to buy toys on his limited income and created the free Lake Cowichan Treasure Hunters group. Every Saturday, at 11 a.m., he posts clues to find a pirate’s bounty, which includes a treasure box containing a real silver coin.
The Facebook page is filled with pictures of smiling kids wearing pirate patches and holding the treasure they found.
“The kids and parents who talk about it makes me feel like I made the right call,” Andrew says.
The group’s attracted more than 300 members and prompted a local business — The Tube Shack — to sponsor the cost of the toys.
After years of struggling to find a home, Andrew is now building a community by spreading joy.
“I feel like the king of the world! I couldn’t be happier,” Andrew says. “If I never became wealthy, but this continued, I’d be satisfied beyond satisfied.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Outdated cancer screening guidelines jeopardizing early detection, doctors say
A group of doctors say Canadian cancer screening guidelines set by a national task force are out-of-date and putting people at risk because their cancers aren't detected early enough.
Lululemon unveils first summer kit for Canada's Olympic and Paralympic teams
Lululemon says it is combining function and fashion in its first-ever summer kit for Canada's Olympians and Paralympians.
'I just started crying': Blue Jays player signs jersey for man in hospital
An Ontario woman says she never expected to be gifted a Blue Jays jersey for her ailing husband when she sat alone at the team’s home opener next to a couple of kind strangers.
Mussolini's wartime bunker opens to the public in Rome
After its last closure in 2021, it has now reopened for guided tours of the air raid shelter and the bunker. The complex now includes a multimedia exhibition about Rome during World War II, air raid systems for civilians, and the series of 51 Allied bombings that pummeled the city between July 1943 and May 1944.
LIVE @ 4 EDT Freeland to present 2024 federal budget, promising billions in new spending
Canadians will learn Tuesday the entirety of the federal Liberal government's new spending plans, and how they intend to pay for them, when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tables the 2024 federal budget.
B.C. woman facing steep medical bills, uncertain future after Thailand crash
The family of a Victoria, B.C., woman who was seriously injured in an accident in Thailand is pleading for help as medical bills pile up.
Step inside 'The Brain': Northern education tool aims to promote drug safety
An immersive experience inside a massive dome coined 'The Brain' is helping youth learn about brain function and addiction
WATCH Half of Canadians living paycheque-to-paycheque: Equifax
As Canadians deal with a crushing housing shortage, high rental prices and inflationary price pressures, now Equifax Canada is warning that Canadian consumers are increasingly under stress"from the surging cost of living.
Ontario woman charged almost $7,000 for 20-minute taxi ride abroad
An Ontario woman was shocked to find she’d been charged nearly $7,000 after unknowingly using an unauthorized taxi company while on vacation in January.