Twelve foundations helping young people who grew up under the control of the Department of Youth Protection (DYP) have joined forces to form a large national group. These organizations hope to optimize their practices, simplify fundraising and benefit from greater visibility.
The foundations of the regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Chaudière-Appalaches, Estrie, Laurentides, Lanaudière, Laval, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, Montérégie, from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Montreal and Quebec participate in the grouping. Other regions of Quebec could eventually join the movement in turn.
In addition to announcing the creation of the Regroupement des fondations pour la protection de la jeunesse (RFPJQ), we also unveiled a new web platform at the address: aidonslesjeunes.com. This portal allows donors to direct their contribution to the region of their choice or even to the program of their choice.
The main objective of the group is to take advantage of the strength of numbers, as described by the president of the RFPJQ Benoît Duplessis. “Yesterday, the foundations worked in silos, but today, the grouping creates synergies. We share resources to make ourselves better known. We want to raise public awareness of our cause. We are improving our processes. We optimize our ways of doing things. All this in order to give more to young people in need, ”he explained at a press conference in Montreal on Tuesday morning.
If the foundations help young people in different ways throughout their time in a youth center or in a foster home, it is above all when they leave that we want to make a difference. The group wants to allow young adults to take advantage of the services offered by each of the regional foundations and no longer just by the organization in their region of residence.
Thanks to this pooling of resources, young people who need to develop their autonomy to enter adult life will be able to count on a wider range of support measures. Some programs offer, for example, support for studies, support for living in an apartment, first aid in the event of an emergency or even the opportunity to make a dream come true.
Nicolas Zorn, author of the biographical essay “I took advantage of the system” in which he recounts his time under the supervision of the DPJ and the path that followed until he became a doctoral student in political science at the University of Montreal, testifies to the importance of these foundations.
“A foundation is not just about money. A foundation provides information and can also raise young people’s awareness,” he underlines before adding that it is not easy for a young 18-year-old adult to find himself alone facing a society in which he often feels like a stranger.
“The first day of their 18th birthday, they are going to party. The second day, they don’t want to have any contact with the DPJ, but you don’t have the tools to live like an adult and you don’t know where to turn. Today, we know that they can turn to foundations,” observes the researcher who will act as the group’s ambassador.
“I was given a lot of second chances in life. I didn’t take them all, but the ones I took made a huge difference and that’s why I think Quebec’s youth protection foundations make a world of difference,” he insisted. .
Although he was not able to benefit directly from it himself since these organizations did not exist at the time, Mr. Zorn nevertheless acknowledges having benefited from other incentives to stick to his studies, including ‘financial aid.
In addition to Mr. Zorn, the RFPJQ is associated with a second ambassador, the actor Luc Guérin. The latter confided that he has the cause of young people at heart and has been discreetly involved with the movement for several years.
He hopes to put his notoriety and visibility to the benefit of the group. The actor believes that mutual aid and support are values that are dear to him and that have played an important role in his own journey.
“I believe a lot in the strength of the group, so the idea of regrouping for me is something very strong. I had support in my life. I am making a career today. I came from a family where we were not very rich. We had no cultural means either. I went to theater school and if I hadn’t had the support of certain people, I wouldn’t have done the job I do today,” he said.
According to the group’s president, Benoît Duplessis, the member foundations currently raise about $4 million a year in total. Without quantifying an objective, he says he is convinced of being able to multiply this amount by combining everyone’s efforts.