My name is Cody. I am 26 years old and was born in Belleville. My Aboriginal ancestry derives from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. I was raised in Trenton and had a great childhood as my parents always worked hard. I was given the opportunity to play on many different hockey and soccer teams with my brother. I made the local rep hockey team and played from the time I was five to 12.

After Grade 6, I had to change schools, and it was at this point that I was introduced to marijuana. This is when my life started to take a turn – I started smoking and selling marijuana. This seemed to lead me down a path of trouble. I was in and out of youth facilities and youth jail throughout my teenager years. I became a dad at 15 and had my second child at 17. At 18, I continued to make the wrong choices. My criminal activity landed me in adult provincial jail – drug trafficking escalated from marijuana to more serious drugs. By the time I was in my early 20s, I had been arrested numerous times and found myself in and out of custody. At the age of 23, I was arrested for trafficking and carrying a gun. I was sentenced to nine years in the federal penitentiary. I completed the required programs, was granted day parole and transitioned to Sagatay.

I wanted more than anything to change my life and live legit, but after living my whole teenage and adult life on the wrong side of the law, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get there. I came to Sagatay not knowing what to expect. I was given a curfew and was told that as long as I was able to abide by that, it would increase over time. I was very happy with the support I got from the staff of Sagatay, and I completed my three months of the mandatory life-skills program. During this time, I was able to obtain all of my ID, and opened my very first bank account. I finally felt like my life was starting to head in the right direction. I was advised that there was an Apprentice Program through Centennial College that I could apply to. I did just that and had an interview. Only having street and jail experience, this was something that made me pretty nervous, but I was excited to hear that I was accepted.

I am currently attending Centennial College in the Electrician Program, and my goal is to continue to grow as a person. I hope to work my way up to being a Master Electrician and eventually own my own business one day. I wish that I had found this path sooner, but what I have gone through has made me the person I am today. I am very grateful for this path that brought me to Sagatay, which has given me legitimate goals to strive for.