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