Dan’s story

Daniel Cazangiu

As Daniel Cazangiu walked out of his Start Court office on Friday, a lengthy chapter of his life – being involved in the justice system – had its curtains drawn for the time being.

When Dan, as he is affectionately known, was just six years old his father tragically passed away. He was soon required to grow up fast and become the ‘man of the house’.

His parents had only been in Australia for seven years after seeking refuge from Romania while his mum was pregnant with him in 1980. Dan wasn’t the only one who had additional responsibilities thrust upon them, as his mother had to get her driver’s licence and a job, all while speaking very little English, to service the family’s recently taken-out mortgage.

Dan soon excelled in the playing arena and represented WA and later Australia in Track and Field and also was selected in the East Perth FC colts squad when he was in his mid-teens.

When 13, Dan experimented with drugs for the first time. Within 18 months he tried stronger substances and started to get involved in crime. It was at this time he was sentenced to juvenile detention for the first time. The seemingly harsh penalty wasn’t lost on Dan.

“It felt a bit unfair that I hadn’t been given a chance,” Dan said.

“I had mates that had been in trouble and not got locked up.

“It was a big shock and chaotic.”

After serving two months in detention, Dan continued the same anti-social behaviours with his friends, only to be back in detention several months later. Following his second sentence in detention, Dan completed Year 11 at Tuart College. He then went to start Year 12 when he had overdosed at school. This was a heartbreaking time for Dan’s family, especially his mother.

“I put her through a lot over the years,” he said.

“She was worried stiff.”

After several stints in prison in his adulthood and now in his mid-30s, Dan’s mindset was starting to change. While potentially facing another sentence in prison, he was “sick and tired of being sick and tired”.

“My family were starting to push me away,” he said.

“I just felt like I was existing, I didn’t feel like I had a purpose.”

He was considering rehabilitation when he was before the courts and the magistrate – who had sentenced him to detention when he was younger – noticed a change in Dan’s attitude. She remanded his sentence to allow him to attend rehabilitation. He encourages anyone who is thinking about participating in rehabilitation to do so, as he was unsure about it himself when he first entered as drugs had been so entrenched in his lifestyle for so long.

“One of the things which got me over the line was meeting someone who I knew from jail when I first got there,” he said.

“They had been there for nine months.

“I thought if he can do it, then surely I can”.

After eight months, Dan exited completed rehabilitation with a new lease on life in August 2017. He focused on his recovery and building a new future. He started seeing a therapist, helping him to tackle unresolved trauma to assist him on his journey. He volunteered as Peer Worker at the same rehabilitation he admitted himself to. He started studying IT Networking while undertaking his recovery journey. Despite having good references, he couldn’t obtain a job because of his lived experience within the justice system. After volunteering for two years, the organisation employed Dan as a Peer Worker. The role led Dan to studying a Certificate IV in Community Services, and while undertaking his placement next door to Outcare’s old office in East Perth, he thought he would see if Outcare had any jobs going. Dan discovered there was a role as Peer Worker at Start Court vacant. He said he had a lot of self-doubt before deciding to apply for the position.

“I spoke with some people close to me about it, seeking their advice,” he said.

“One of my closest friends said I would be more suited than anyone for this and it would be a shame to not use my 20 years’ experience for good.

“I applied 10 minutes before the cut-off and within an hour I received a call asking me to come in for an interview.”

Peer Workers are an invaluable part of the support offered to clients at Outcare. Dan was successful in his application for the role and spent the next three years supporting people who were participants of Start Court with great success. He said it is an incredibly rewarding position.

“Peer Workers provide hope to people who have never experienced hope before or forgotten what hope looks like,” he said.

“It gives an opportunity to show anything is possible and people have it within themselves to accomplish anything they want.

“Seeing people change and achieve wicked goals like getting their own places and get their family back in their lives – they’re great things.”

Dan finished with Outcare on July 19 to take up a leadership role within the Peer Workers Team at the WA Department of Health.