Emmett Johns

“Thank you to all those who believed in me, who never doubted I would make it and who encouraged me throughout. The reason I’m where I am today is because of Dans la rue and all those who back this cause.” This moving testimonial is from Keena, a young mother who experienced the pain and loneliness of the street and who became an executive secretary in the legal affairs department of a multinational corporation.

Le Bon Dieu dans la rue’s approach is underpinned by friendship and respect for human dignity. The community-based organization provides shelter, a listening ear and support to street kids and at-risk youth. Father Johns and his team help these young people build independence and live up to their potential.

Born in 1928 to Irish parents, Emmett Johns grew up on the Plateau Mont-Royal. After 36 years as a parish priest in various Montréal communities, Father Johns finally found his true calling as a missionary in 1988, when he ventured into Montréal’s streets in his van in search of homeless youths in need of comfort and support.

Since then, the Bon Dieu dans la rue van has made countless rounds and hunderds of volunteers have offered their time to the organization. Over the years, and with the support of thousands of donors, Emmett Johns was able to broaden services, beginning with the Bunker, an overnight shelter for youth living on the streets, and followed by a day centre called Chez Pops, launched in November 1997 and offering a wide range of activities, including math and language instruction, a phys ed program (with the help of Cirque du Soleil), an on-site psychologist, medical care and a workforce integration program.

Father Emmett Johns, or “Pops” as he is affectionately called by the street kids he helps, has built an impressive heritage for Montréal and an incredible tool to fight youth poverty and exclusion.

In December 2001, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse awarded Father Johns the Rights and Freedoms Prize for his profound commitment to defending the rights of street kids. This prestigious prize was preceded by the Humanitarian Award, received from the Association des médecins psychiatres du Québec (1998) and the Award of Excellence from the Montréal Urban Community’s police department (1999).

The founder of Le Bon Dieu dans la rue also received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University in 1997, the Anne-Greenup Citizenship Award in 1998 and the Desjardins’ Youth Assistance Award in 1999.

In 1998, Father Emmett Johns made Maclean’s Honour Roll and, in 2000, he was named to the Order of Canada. He was inducted into the Academy of Great Montrealers in the Social category in 2002 and was named a Commander of the Ordre de Montréal in 2016.

Father Emmett Johns died in 2018.

Source: Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal

The picture and biographical information appearing on this page were current at the time this person was admitted to the Academy of Great Montrealers.