Dans La Rue

From EndCanadianPoverty.ca

Mission: Le Bon Dieu dans la rue is an organization serving youths living in the streets or youth at risk. With God's help and with dedication, with respect and in friendship, we help them develop their autonomy. Working with the community, we accompany them and provide the help they may need to realize their potential.

Le Bon Dieu dans la rue - or Dans la rue as our organization is more commonly known - has been a leader in working with Montréal street kids since its creation in 1988. Our success stems directly from the philosophy of our founder, Father Emmett Johns, whose conviction that all youths are entitled to be respected and listened to in a non-judgemental way, forms the very backbone of the services we offer.

Dans la rue is a safe place for these kids to go and a place for them to grow. They can find resources that have been tailored to their individual circumstances. But above all, they can draw on an unending source of respect, friendship and encouragement.

Over the years, we have developed an impressive array of services and programs adapted to the needs of young street kids. Following is an overview of what we offer.

We have, from the very beginning, focused all our efforts on meeting the specific needs of street kids. No new services or programs are ever launched until we are absolutely certain that the tools to be used are adapted to the unique problems and challenges facing these youths.

Background: In the course of any given year in Montréal, nearly 5,000 kids can be found living on the streets or in high-risk situations. For some of them, their time on the streets is short-lived. For many others, however, it only marks the beginning of a life of destitution. Lots of these kids are themselves innocent victims of circumstances they had no hand in creating. Most of them have never felt what it is to belong to a real family - to be loved and nurtured, respected and encouraged.

Street kids do not end up homeless of their own volition. Many of them are victims of violence, have led lives of isolation or suffer from serious emotional problems. The overwhelming majority have never known the joy of a healthy family situation and have instead had to grapple with the problems associated with institutional life. In many cases, they lack a good education and are ready to do anything to earn the money they need to survive. They are prime targets for the pimps and drug traffickers who are quick to see in them the signs of easy prey. They lack practical financial knowledge and have an insufficient level of education. They have neither the self-esteem nor the existing emotional support system they need to build their self-respect and realize their inner and as-yet untapped potential. Sadly but inevitably, these kids eventually grow into adults who, with minimal education and little or no job-related training, are prone to spiralling into a vicious cycle of poverty. Father Emmett Johns: In 1988, Father Emmett Johns decided to make his lifelong dream come true: he became a missionary. Although he didn't have to leave the country to make this happen, his journey has indeed been a very long one. After 36 years as a priest at various parishes throughout Greater Montreal, he found his calling in the city's downtown streets. He started out by meandering through these streets at night in a used van he bought with his own meager savings in an attempt to make contact with young streetkids in need of a bite to eat and a little human compassion. That's how Le Bon Dieu dans la rue came into being. Soon afterward, the charity's founder, who was 60 at the time, was affectionately nicknamed "Pops" by those he was committed to helping.

If one is judged by the strength and depth of his convictions, personal values, undying faithfulness to his friends, selfless generosity, tireless devotion to helping the weak and the poor, then it is safe to say that Father Johns is truly a giant among men.

The Chez Pops Day Centre: The Chez Pops Day Centre opened its doors in the fall of 1997 and today is visited nearly 40,000 times a year. Chez Pops is open Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Chez Pops offers services adapted to the specific needs of street kids. There are a series of constructive activities and programs designed to help them make concrete, positive steps towards realizing their inner potential. Before Chez Pops, nothing of this kind was available for street kids. Even today, Chez Pops remains a one-of-a-kind resource. The specific programs and services available through the Day Centre are further described in the following section.

Cafeteria We serve an average of 200 meals a day (five days a week) at the Chez Pops cafeteria. This extraordinary place is the site of daily informal meetings between street kids and our counsellors, teachers, therapists, nurse, volunteers and other staff members. The cafeteria is often where the first building blocks for future relationships are put into place, where kids take their first steps to eventually getting off the street.

Depot The Depot is a small warehouse where all of the donated goods we receive are recorded, sorted and redistributed. We hand out a wide range of items, such as socks, underwear, outdoor wear, shoes, personal care products, blankets, towels and non-perishable food. The Depot is open two afternoons a week to kids in need.

Medical Clinic Our nurse is on duty 25 hours a week and as such sees over 2,000 patients a year. For most street kids who, all too frequently have no provincial health insurance card (or any other piece of identification) and no money, and who are often victim to the flagrant prejudice of others, the nurse and volunteer doctors who work with us on a regular basis are their only link to the health system. At our clinic, kids are cared for - with total confidentiality - and referred, as needed, to the most appropriate resource for further treatment.

Psychological care Street kids who come to Dans la rue for help have access to two psychologists. More and more or our youths actively seek out or accept these services for a variety of reasons and at different stages of their development. For instance, they may be going through a crisis, exploring the causes of their interpersonal problems or trying to find out what is at the root of their addictive, depressive or aggressive behaviour. Considering the complicated pasts of many of these kids, this type of service is critical in helping them regain balance in their lives.

Dans la rue School: The students at the Dans la rue school abandoned the traditional educational system long ago. The purpose of our school is to encourage these young dropouts to resume their studies and thereby provide them with one of the key ingredients they need to win their struggle against homelessness and poverty. Every year, we help some forty students earn high-school French, math and computer science credits - and we are proud to say that their provincial test scores constantly outperform the Quebec average. Our orientation counsellor meets with the kids, either as a group or on a one-on-one basis, to talk to them about workplace realities and the range of job training programs available to them.

Work Entry Program: A first job is a crucial step for street kids determined to get back on their feet. They are already very wary of failure, and need extra support and encouragement during this period. This is why it is so important to offer them the opportunity to gain experience in an environment adapted to their situation.

We offer job opportunities to kids within our own organization - specifically in the kitchen, depot, thrift store, and art, music and computer rooms.

Thanks to the invaluable assistance of the Centre de ressources éducatives et pédagogique (CREP), we are able to provide our kids with the services of an employment educator. As a result, our youths receive on-the-job training, and qualification certificates were handed out covering a wide variety of occupations including kitchen helper, driver's assistant, art room assistant, computer workshop assistant, music workshop assistant, warehouse clerk and building maintenance attendant.

In addition, several members of the business community have teamed up with Dans la rue to offer internship programs that enable youths to develop transferable job skills and bolster their self-confidence.

Since early 2001, Dans la rue has been running a pilot project known as Solidarité Jeunesse. Over the next two years, this socio-economic integration program will offer roughly 50 street kids the opportunity to enhance their personal and professional abilities and acquire a wide range of tools designed to develop their employability skills.

Our employment educator is on hand to facilitate various types of projects. To date, he has successfully helped put some 20 kids on the road to success. Thanks to his guidance, a total of 14 qualification certificates have been issued, confirming that an individual has learned not only the specific duties of a given position, but also job-related habits and behaviours in terms of attendance, punctuality, motivation, self-control, organization, cooperation, teamwork, interaction with superiors, respect of rules, communication, and work quality and output. Other Activities: The dedication and social commitment of a number of other community organizations, as well as volunteers, enable us to offer a wide range of complementary services and workshops :

• Dental clinic (four to six times a year)
• Veterinary clinic (six times a year)
• Legal clinic (twice a week)
• Drug abuse intervention/prevention (twice a week or more as the need arises)
• Additional mental health resources (once a week)
• Tax night

Activities and workshop: Despite the complexity of the problems we encounter, we have succeeded in setting up a wide range of activities whose common objective is to help street kids get back on their feet and realize their inner potential.

With the help of many wonderful volunteers, we have been offering:

• Courses in dance, yoga and drama
• Chess tournaments
• Workshops on artistic endeavours such as glass engraving
• Presentation of movies and videos

Outside activities In the past five years, Dans la rue has stepped up its efforts to break the vicious cycle of homelessness and neglect. And we have seen, time and time again, what wonders can be accomplished when a youth finally succeeds in getting off the street for good. We therefore strive to offer activities that get kids away from the street for a few hours or even a few days at time. By taking part in these outings, they can discover a completely different world and discover the possibilities that are open to them. Some of these activities include:

• Theatrical plays
• Hockey games
• Ski, rafting and hiking trips
• Sugaring off parties
• Visits to musuem, biodome, botanical garden, etc.

Whether they take place at the Day Centre itself or off-site, these activities are designed to give youths an opportunity to develop their self-confidence and figure out who they really are.

[edit] Website Address & E-mail

• Dans la rue
• Email for Dans la rue

[edit] Address & Phone Number

• Digits: 514.526.5222
• 895, rue de la Gauchetière West
• Level 90, bureau 220
• Montréal, QC H3B 5K3
• See Map

[edit] Charity Status

• Dans la rue is a registered charity.
• Charity Registration Number: 138449020 RR0001