As Much as He Needed Them

In December 1988, in Montreal, a 60-year-old man borrowed $10,000.

With that money, he bought an old vehicle. At night, he drove through the city's streets. He looked for the young people sleeping outside. He brought them something to eat, and a little warmth.

His name was Emmett Johns. He was a Catholic priest. The street kids would end up calling him something else: "Pops."

He was born on April 3, 1928, in the Plateau-Mont-Royal. Ordained in 1952, he had been a vicar, and a hospital and school chaplain.

When he began his street work, he was coming out of a very dark period in his life.

His first goal was simple. To give these young people a safe place to sleep.

He named his project Le Bon Dieu dans la rue. Later, the organization became simply Dans la rue.

In 1993, he opened a night shelter. In 1997, he opened a day centre. Young people could take classes there, and music and computer workshops. They also found psychological support.

His way of working fit in three words: help without judgement.

Over the years, Dans la rue grew to 65 employees and hundreds of volunteers.

One person cannot solve poverty. But a hand held out at night can change the course of a life.

Pops was named to the Order of Canada in 1999. In 2003, he became a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec.

In 2016, living with Parkinson's disease, he retired.

He died on January 13, 2018, in a Montreal retirement home, at 89. The director of the Old Brewery Mission said he had probably transformed the lives of countless young people.

Pops himself did not claim the hero's role. Recalling his beginnings, he explained that he had discovered:

We often think helping means giving to someone who lacks everything. Pops discovered that each of us lacks the other, and that we rise together.