DANS LA RUE LAUNCHES 2011-2012 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

Media were invited under the Jacques-Cartier Bridge by Dans la rue, an organization dedicated to helping Montreal street kids, to kick off its annual fundraising campaign this morning. It was an opportunity for the organization to remind people that living outdoors, whether in summer or winter, is a daily struggle - not just for Occupy Montreal protestors, but for all street kids as well.

"The Occupy Montreal movement did more than just denounce the social inequalities that afflict our society. It also drew attention to Montreal's significant homeless problem and the challenges faced by the many street kids who visited the camp throughout the occupation. The mental health issues, drug use and violent behaviour that caught the movement's organizers off-guard are in fact a daily reality for both street kids and the Dans la rue intervention workers who offer them help," stated Aki Tchitacov, Executive Director of Dans la rue.

The launch of the campaign was also an opportunity for the organization to reiterate the importance of its front-line services, provided by approximately 40 experienced intervention workers for over 150 youths each day. The location of the press conference is in fact not far from one of the four stops of the Dans la rue Van, which has been criss-crossing Montreal's streets nightly to deliver food and personal care items to homeless youth for over 23 years.

"At Dans la rue, troubled youths find services and programs that will help them make better choices for their future. We listen to them and provide them with basic care; we help them find homes; we accompany them through the social services network; we encourage them to participate in our reintegration programs and to explore the other services available to them," added Mr. Tchitacov.

Through its leadership and expertise, Dans la rue shares its humanity and its profound conviction that all youths can look forward to a future full of promise. Each and every one of them, regardless of their past, is welcomed, listened to and treated with understanding, consideration and respect, and is never judged. It is crucial for Dans la rue to be able to personalize its interventions, so that it can maximize the chance of youth taking their situation in hand and to guide them on this path.

The money raised during this campaign will help Dans la rue maintain its front-line services and programs, developed by the unique expertise of its specialised intervention workers and its counsellors over the years.

Launch of 2011-2012 Campaign

It costs over $3.9 million annually for Dans la rue to provide its services, namely the Van, the Bunker and the Chez Pops Day Centre. During its 2011-2012 fundraising campaign, Dans la rue hopes to raise a little over $3.8 million, as it has already received $450,000 in donations and/or pledges.

A donation can be made by phone at 514-526-5222, by mail at Dans la rue, 895, rue de la Gauchetière Ouest, Level 90, Suite 220, Montreal H3B 5K3) or online at www.danslarue.org

Photo credit: Cindy Boyce

Our press conference under the Jacques-Cartier Bridge

Aki Tchitacov, our Executive Director with Carl, a youth who received support from Dans la rue

Aki Tchitacov, our Executive Director

Carl, a youth who received support from Dans la rue

Carl, a youth who received support from Dans la rue with Aki Tchitacov, our Executive Director

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We want to remind you that, sadly, there are some people who claim to represent Dans la rue in order to fraudulently collect money in our name. These dishonest individuals attempt all sorts of underhanded tactics to cheat you out of your money. So please keep the following in mind: Dans la rue never solicits door to door for donations and we do not carry out telemarketing campaigns to raise funds. The rule of thumb to follow in giving to any charity is always to send your gift directly to the organization you wish to support.

The Association Québécoise des entrepreneurs en Infrastructure gives $5,000 to Dans la rue.

Congratulations and thank you to Yves Desgagnés!

Joël Legendre & Yves Desgagnés

Over 130 Aeroplan Employees Spend a Night on the Streets in Support of Homeless Youth

$66,000 raised for Dans la rue

MONTREAL, Oct. 13, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - On Wednesday, October 12th, 2011, more than 300 Aeroplan employees from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver joined together to raise awareness of the conditions in which homeless youth live while also raising money to help them. Over a period of two days, employees participated in activities geared around supporting kids on the street, including sandwich making for the homeless, street fund raising for Dans la rue, insights and learnings from a homeless veteran and a sleep-out in a parking lot in downtown Montreal.

Aeroplan employees raised more than $33,000 and Aeroplan has increased its match to $33,000 for a total of $66,000 in support of Dans la rue (www.danslarue.com), an organization dedicated to supporting homeless youth in Montreal.

"Supporting our local communities is a big part of our culture at Aeroplan and a key objective," said Kevin O'Brien, Chief Commerical Officer, Aeroplan.  "This experience gave our employees an opportunity to assist homeless youth and the money raised by our employees will go a long way in supporting key services at Dans la rue and help to build a stronger community."

"Dans la rue is pleased to be partnering with Aeroplan and its employees during their Aeroplan Days event," said Aki Tchitacov, Executive Director of Dans la rue. "It is important to realize that one person CAN make a difference. Each and every employee's action will have a considerable impact not only on the lives of our youth, but on every person they encounter on the streets during these 2 days. They will bring about positive change."

For more information on this event please visit: www.aeroplangivesback.com.

Dans la rue is pleased to be the recipient of John Rennie High School's immensely successful food drive, their largest one to date. In fact, Brian Swirsky, the organizer of the project and a teacher in the Renaissance program at John Rennie, was aiming for nothing short of the Guinness Book of Records. After having collected more than 2,000 canned goods - 160 000 lbs. of food - Swirsky and his students were determined to beat the world record for the largest food drive. He maintains that the project was a resounding success, despite not having beaten the record.

Dans la rue was enthusiastic about the project from the start. The organization always needs non-perishable items to fill the food bags it supplies to the hundreds of youth who come to the Van five nights a week. Dans la rue hands out 900 food bags a month, which represents more than 64,000 food items per year.

The overwhelming response from students, the public and supermarkets to Swirsky's project was such that the quantity of food collected surpassed everyone's expectations. This is why Dans la rue has decided to share its good fortune with other organizations which fight homelessness, to ensure not a single item is wasted and help those in dire need!

Dans la rue wishes to thank and recognize the efforts of Brian Swirsky and his students, Kirkland Wal-Mart and Costco, as well as all those who contributed to this amazing food drive. Your donations and your generosity are boundless and Dans la rue is extremely grateful. A special thanks goes out to AMJ Campbell Transport for its support of this project - they generously provided transportation and boxes for the canned goods.

All of us who have come to work for and volunteer at Le Bon Dieu dans la rue have done so because of who we are: humane, compassionate, builders.      

I am sad to announce that one of our most beloved colleagues, Sylvain Flamand, Director of Youth Intervention Services, a stellar ambassador of these values, passed away on September 24th at the too-young age of 42 years old.

I write these words in partial disbelief. Sylvain joined Dans la rue in 1996 as a youth counselor at the Bunker. We met when I joined the organization in 1997 as Director of the "Chez Pops" Day Centre. He and a colleague had dyed their hair green. It was the heyday of the Punk look on the street; Sylvain studied it and took whatever he could from it in order to relate better to the kids. That was his method: know who these kids are, engage them, circumvent road blocks, open pathways, promote better ways of working with them, inspire colleagues and peers to think outside the box and build partnerships that promote all of the above.

To Dans la rue's great benefit, Pops' legacy of unconditional acceptance of these kids and the opening of doorways for them to improve their lives were a perfect match with Sylvain's personal and professional ideals. Sylvain could have easily gravitated to more lucrative careers in academia, writing, the public service, even opening a camping lodge! However, his heart was here.

Without flinching, he occupied all of the demanding counselor positions in our structure: Bunker Counsellor (night-time), Day Centre Counselor, Day Centre Crew Chief, Counselor Coordinator, and Director of Youth Intervention Services. He left his mark every time. We do not have the space to list all of his accomplishments. However, the quality of the paths that we offer our youth today either through our employment programs or our frontline counseling work, was shaped by Sylvain's vision and leadership-by-example.

We have lost a great leader and, for those that we serve, a tireless crusader. We extend our love and sincere condolences to Jade, his courageous wife, and his children, Darragh and Charlie.

Aki Tchitacov
Executive Director

Les Docteurs - Thursday September 15th 2011 Show

Presentation of our Day Centre

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