France Labelle, Executive Director of Le Refuge, publishes Le Refuge des Jeunes de Montréal, Trente ans en pays d’itinérance ou La douleur de la soie

In her 2020 book, France Labelle, co-founder of Refuge des Jeunes, speaks out to raise public awareness of the reality faced by young homeless men, drawing on her thirty years' experience as a social worker and director.

She also uses these pages to give young people at the Refuge the opportunity to share their diverse realities: some come from wealthy or broken families, some are leaving youth centers, and some are new to the country. Finally, she hands over to the workers, employees and volunteers at the Refuge, who also have complex backgrounds and personal reasons for getting involved with the organisation.

In this poignant and necessary text, which recounts a number of tragedies yet always maintains a hopeful tone, France Labelle bears witness to the courage and strength of those who have confided in her. Adding her own critical, political and militant perspective, the result is a deeply moving and human work.

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A look back at the virtual launch

On 27 October 2020, we were delighted to launch France Labelle's book Le Refuge des Jeunes de Montréal, Trente ans en pays d'itinérance ou La douleur de la soie, which is available in all good bookshops. You can watch a video of the launch event below. We would like to thank André Gagnon of Éditions Hurtubise for hosting the event and Manon Massé for the honour and pleasure of reading the magnificent preface she wrote for the book.

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