HOME TOWN: Curtis was born in Prince George and lived there until the age of six. His family moved around a great deal and throughout Curtis’ childhood, they spent time living in Fort Saint James, Calgary, Nanaimo, Victoria, Courtney, and Vancouver.

 

PARENTS: Curtis’ mom has First Nations/Native and Ukranian ancestry, and his dad is of Scottish and Irish descent. Curtis’ mom has worked in many kinds of jobs including serving tables, working in a mill and working as a security guard. His dad has worked as a trucker and has driven many kinds of trucks including dump trucks and ice cream trucks. Curtis has a close relationship with his mother and describes her as his “best friend”, even though they sometimes disagree and don’t see eye to eye. Curtis met his dad for the first time when he was seven years old, (during that visit, his dad beat his mom) and since then his dad has been in and out of his life.

 

INTERESTS: Curtis has a naturally creative mind and has always been interested in art. When he was around twelve years old, he started doing personal writing and most recently he is interested in learning about film making. From script writing to screenplay and camera work, he wants to learn it all. Curtis has a real passion for video games and web design and is currently working on improving his website.

 

RECENT HISTORY: Throughout Curtis’ adolescent and young adult years, he has lived in foster homes, group homes, and has spent time living at Jack Ledger House and Grace House.

 

CHALLENGES: Curtis has been challenged in his life by drug use and being completely broke. What he has learned from these challenges is how to survive and he believes that he has earned a diploma from the streets as well as a keen sense for evaluating people and situations. He has also learned how to lead people well into proper victories.

 

STRENGTHS: Curtis is a fearless leader. As a leader, he is interested in people and how to support a team to work well. He likes to know how everyone on a team is feeling in order to understand where they are, and what they need to bring the best out in themselves. He believes that building people up and giving respect to everyone, makes it possible to bring a team together to accomplish important goals and victories.
 

 

IMPORTANT PEOPLE: As a leader, Curtis also feels that it is also important to be willing to follow others. For many years, Curtis has listened to and followed the sound advice of people he trusts. Two of these people are Pastor Bob Swann and Brendan Mundn of the ACT team. Curtis respects these people and has learned how to lead by watching them.

 

LIFE NOW:  Curtis is living at the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction and is working hard to grow as a person and to stay clean.

 

HOPE/GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: One of the things Curtis would like to do in the near future is to track down people he has known in the past to let them know that he’s doing well in life now. He would also like to learn more about his ancestry and perhaps research his family tree. It could be totally possible that Curtis has a rich family out there somewhere, and he’d like to find out! Another important goal for Curtis is to pursue a formal education.