Meet Daniel

Music has always been a big part of Daniel’s life. He told us, ‘I have a DVD at home. I put it on and dance in my bedroom.’ He also plays guitar, sings, and takes part in our drama club. 

Daniel attends our Steps into Employment programme through which he connected with supported employment specialists, Status Employment. They worked with Daniel to secure a volunteering position at a record store in Brixton. He impressed the staff there so much that they offered him a paid role. 

Reflecting on how it all began, Daniel said, ‘Volunteering was really good’. He told us he now does a range of tasks including, ‘Selling the records, stamping, and bagging things up to send to different countries...yesterday I played music. I played one jazz and one hip hop’. 

When he’s at the shop, Daniel says he feels, ‘Excited. I like the people there’. He enjoys learning new skills and likes the freedom that comes with earning money, often using his pay to ‘go out with my friend’. Every job has its challenges though. Daniel told us that, ‘The computer is hard’ but he’s never afraid to ask his manager for help, ‘Ben is good!’

Find out more about Daniel's story in this film we made with the support of the Media Trust and the Santander Foundation: