It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
A tall, handsome, lanky youth walks into the Britannia ice rink slightly stooped over, still somewhat uncomfortable with his height and himself. He’s a little shy about looking you in the eye and speaking up.
You get the impression he's spent a lot of time in his 18 years keeping his eyes down and looking over his shoulder to stay out of harm’s way.
Nicholas comes from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, where contending with gangs, violent crime and drug turf wars is as much a part of daily life as a decaf latte is on the west side.
For Nic, hockey was a keen interest developed at the tender age of five when he wandered down to the local rink to watch the older kids play. It was on one of those frequent visits he was invited to play, and so began a lifelong passion.
He continued to practice every week, developing his skills and scrambling for cast-off equipment. Eventually, his hockey prowess caught the attention of a school counsellor who was involved in the formation of H.E.R.O.S.
Nic, at age 12, was already starting to move with a fast crowd and teetering on the edge of gang initiation. He was deemed to be an ideal candidate for the new hockey program aimed at helping at-risk youth.
Initially, Nic joined H.E.R.O.S. because it would give him access to more ice time and much-needed, expensive new equipment. But his participation as a mentor also provided a great opportunity to help with the younger kids.
It was something “I wanted to do, but [it was] not demanded of me, and that made me feel good about myself,” Nic says.
Along the way, Nic also discovered that the program helped him to stay in school.
Suffering from a bad case of self-described “skipamania” prior to joining H.E.R.O.S., Nic was provided with an English tutor to help him with his school work and stay motivated.
The tutor made a huge difference, he says. Nic is the first person in his entire family to graduate from high school.
Apart from staying motivated in school, protecting himself physically from gang persecution was a continual threat and challenge, he says.
Recognizing this serious problem faced by many H.E.R.O.S. participants, H.E.R.O.S. partnered with the Vancouver Police Department to offer a drug, alcohol and gang awareness program.
Nic got involved when he participated in a police-student challenge. A mock crime takes students and trains them how to conduct an investigation.
This was a transformative moment for Nic.
“I found the work fascinating," he says.
“And I saw how I could help make a difference in my neighbourhood. So I decided to train to become a police officer.”
Thanks to a H.E.R.O.S. scholarship, Nic registered at Langara College in their criminology program.
However, Nic’s safety was jeopardized once again when he was faced with gang retaliation for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was relocated to Toronto in a witness protection program.
Wanting to make the most of his time in Toronto, Nic applied to a private police academy that required an 85 per cent entrance exam score.
Nic scored 98 per cent – an impressive achievement for anyone, let alone a young man whose life is in turmoil.
But going to school so far from home at such a young age without the support of friends and family proved to be too much of a strain. Six months later, he moved back to Vancouver to an undisclosed location, and at age 18 began living on his own.
Enrolled once again at Langara College, he continues to play midget league hockey and to volunteer his time with H.E.R.O.S.
Nic says that working as a H.E.R.O.S. mentor and leader has taught him a lot about leadership, respect and determination.
His goal now is to become a Vancouver Police Department school liaison officer.
“Because I grew up in such a bad neighbourhood, I want to try and change things,” Nic says.
“I don’t think any of these opportunities would be available for me now had I not met Norm and gotten involved in H.E.R.O.S. I’m more mature. It [H.E.R.O.S.] helped me to solve my problems or at least know where to go to ask for help.”