France Labelle

Co-founder and executive director of the Refuge des Jeunes, France Labelle fights to improve their living conditions and deals with their problems with genuine empathy and dedication. The Refuge team has welcomed, helped and listened to nearly 20,000 young people in difficulty since it was created in 1989.

France Labelle began her career in youth centres and community shelters. In 1987, she chaired the Comité jeunes itinérants du Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal (RAPSIM), which initiated the Refuge project. She served as Chair of the Refuge Board of Directors for five years before becoming executive director of the organization in 1992.

An excellent communicator, France Labelle takes advantage of all forums available to her to raise awareness of homeless youth. Never one to back away from a challenge, she and her accomplice, Dan Bigras, are behind the great success of the Show du Refuge which started in 1991. In 2009, she also co-authored a book entitled La rue, un chemin tracé d’avance?, which tells the story of 22 homeless young people.

A valuable resource in dealing with homelessness, France Labelle shares her expertise with other organizations, such as the Table de concertation jeunesse/itinérance du centre-ville and the RAPSIM, an umbrella group that she chairs and which includes more than 100 member organizations that defend the rights of homeless people in Montréal. Her ceaseless efforts to support and encourage homeless youth to re-enter society are vital to the Montréal community.

In 2013, France Labelle received the Prix d’excellence Persillier-Lachapelle in the community category, which recognized her outstanding contribution to developing and improving the services provided by the health and social services network. In 2011, she was one of 25 finalists in Châtelaine Magazine’s Women of the Year award. In 2002, la Commission des services juridiques also awarded her the Prix Robert-Sauvé, in the Grand public category, which recognized her role in defending the rights of the most disenfranchised.

In 2013, the Refuge des Jeunes was acknowledged with the Prix ESTim in the Community organization category, awarded by the Chambre de commerce de l’Est de Montréal, and the Prix d’humanisme de l’Association des médecins psychiatres du Québec, in 2004. In 2006, France Labelle and Dan Bigras were named Personalities of the Week by the La Presse newspaper.

France Labelle studied the teaching of history at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and psychoeducation at the Université de Montréal.