Daniel

  Daniel is 20 years old and lives with his girlfriend in the northeast of the City. He lives with his girlfriend who is pregnant with his child and her two children from previous relationships. who are aged 1 and 2.  His neighbourhood is made up of apartment buildings, townhouses and some single house dwellings. The majority of people in his neighbourhood are on income support payments or working in low-paying jobs. Most of the neighbours like Daniel live in rental units.

Community

The community has some retail services scattered along strip malls and strips of the highway but there is no real community core. For the most part the neighbourhood is surrounded by warehouses and industrial developments. There are a few social services ― daycare centres, youth centres, Children’s Services and a scattering of social service agencies but they are located some distance from where Daniel and his girlfriend live. The community league runs a summer program and some recreation programs for children throughout the year which for the most part cater to 6 to 12 year olds. The community league also sponsors soccer during the spring and operates the arena in the fall and winter.

The community is considered to be a high-needs, low income area and has a fairly high crime rate (property crimes, crimes against persons, juvenile crime and family disputes). People tend to move in an out of their rental units which limits the ability of neighbours to get to know each other or develop a strong sense of community. Daniel and his girlfriend know a few of their neighbours, mostly young people like themselves who spend a lot of time watching  T.V., playing video games and hanging out at the bar when they have some money. Otherwise, people tend to “mind their own business.”

Family Life

Daniel moved to the City from a First Nations community in the northern part of the province to get away from the poverty and make a better life for himself. Daniel along with his 2 younger siblings and older sister and older brother was raised in a fairly neglectful and abusive environment by his father and mother. Daniel’s father was an alcoholic and spent a lot of time in institutions. His mother tried her best but she had her own problems with alcohol and was often physically abused by his father so she tended to be quiet and out of sight. For the most part, Daniel like his siblings was left to raise himself although he did have a positive relationship with his grandmother who took him to live with her when she could.  After his grandmother died, Daniel moved to Edmonton to make a better life for himself, since he saw no future on the reserve. Daniel has some cousins and uncles who moved to the City before him and are his main source of support.

Daniel and his girlfriend, Angela, have an on again off again relationship that is marred by alcohol and drugs. Angela is struggling to give up crack now that she is pregnant. Daniel tries to be supportive but other than telling her not to take the stuff doesn’t know what else to do. Daniel does not take drugs himself but occasionally goes on drinking binges that can last several days. Usually these binges are cut short by a lack of money and he will go for weeks without touching a drink. He tries to help Angela out with her kids but since they are not his kids he doesn’t really feel like their father. However, he is very excited that Angela is going to have his baby and talks about them moving to a better place to raise the baby.

School

Daniel dropped out of school half way through Grade 9. He can barely read and write and has been diagnosed with borderline ADHD. He has been accepted into an upgrading program and while he sees this as a chance to make a better life, he knows that he has never been very good at school work and is worried that he won’t make it or will get kicked out as he has in the past. 

Personal Life

Daniel spends most of his time playing video games and watching T.V when he is home. He also hangs out with his cousins and a few friends that he has met in the neighbourhood. Daniel has made some attempts to find a job but since he has limited skills and no real job experience he only gets occasional work. His main source of extra income comes from work he does for his cousins who are involved in an aboriginal gang. He has stored drugs and weapons in the past and has been involved in selling drugs for his cousins. Since he keeps quiet about this work and is considered trustworthy his cousins have suggested that he get jumped in to the gang and become more involved in the business.

Daniel suffers from bouts of depression and gets real down on himself for not being a good provider. He believes that he could make more money through the gangs and because he would like to move to a better apartment and buy things for the baby he is tempted to “up his involvement with the gang”. 

Services and Organizations

The primary contact Daniel has had with agencies is with the income assistance worker who he has to see occasionally for his welfare payments and the people at the school where he has been accepted for upgrading. Daniel doesn’t want his child to live the life he has and feels burdened by the pressures of becoming a father. He has put their name on a waiting list for subsidized housing in a better part of the neighbourhood but he has been told that it would be at least a year before they would be able to move. Daniel doesn’t know where to turn for help and doubts that anybody could help him since things have never worked out in the past.