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Daniel

For many years, Daniel, age 17, was heavily involved member of the SUR13 gang in south Fort Worth. At age 13, he got into trouble with the law and it happened more and more often. Daniel had been abusing drugs and was involved with gang violence, and his behavior at home and everywhere was disruptive. For many years he missed school regularly, dropping out sometime in his 9th grade. It looked as though his life was quickly going downhill.

In January 2009, Daniel's mother passed away from drinking too much alcohol. Daniel and his family were very shaken by her passing and, in time, helped him to see life in a different way. In May 2009, Daniel and Beverly, his sister and legal guardian, started Family Preservation services using Functional Family therapy. Their family was committed and showed much desire to learn new things during this time. They remembered their mother's strengths she had taught them - commitment to family, protection, survival, and tough love, and they continue using these today to ease their grief. All the family put much effort into listening and understanding the family's way of life and this helped to improve their communication and problem solving skills. Daniel decided his life's goals are education, career, and family and he has started planning how to reach his goals. His mother's unconditional love and support during his whole struggling life helped give him the determination to see life in a different way and to improve the family's way of living. Daniel is now drug-free, works at leaving the gang, helps Beverly manage her daily life, and sees a brighter future. Daniel earned his high school diploma and successfully completed his juvenile probation in January 2010.