CENTRE FRANCOPHONE DU DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE
Amid much l a u g h t e r 6 applause a new s e r v i c e o f f i c i a l l y opened i t s doors on Thursday, 27 February. The i d e a t i o n which spawned t h i s c e n t r e , a t 578 Powell S t . , was f i r s t shared by 5 people, a l l francophones, and t h e i d e a grew i n t o LA BOUSSOLE where French-speaking r e s i d e n t s o f t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e E o f Vancouver drop i n t o - volunteer - enquire F, a s s i s t a n c e with w e l f a r e , housing E employment - r e q u e s t English c o u r s e s - e n q u i r e about t h e C e n t r e ' s a c t i v i t y - s o c i a l i z e & take a coffee - u s e t h e telephone - g e t temporary s t o r a g e - advocacy - make donations The 5 founding people a r e Marie Dus s a u l t , Normand Levesque, Jacques Masse, Claude Noel 4 Brian Roy.Their energy i n s p i r e d many o t h e r s , both i n d ividuals E organisations, t o a s s i s t with e x t e n s i v e surveys, networking E j u s t i d e n t i f y i n g i s s u e s t h a t b o t h new
francophones t o t h e DE. and long-time r e s i d e n t s a r e concerned with. The n e x t s t a g e i s s e t t i n g up E deve l o p i n g s e r v i c e s , 1i k e : bank o f . f r a n c ophone s e r v i c e s ; i n f o s e s s i o n s ; Engl i s h l e s s o n s ; l i t e r a c y & High school c o u r s e s ; s o c i a l evenings; i n t a k e , i n formation 6 r e f e r r a l s ; a s s i s t a n c e ; advocacy E t r a n s l a t i o n . Related work i n t h e r e c r u i t m e n t 6 involvement of volu n t e e r s , s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e founding committee, l i a i s o n - n e t w o r k i n g with community r e s o u r c e s E a n e w s l e t t e r i s In t h e i r own words "Ce q u i vous manque l e p l u s dans l e downtown e a s t s i d e ... * une p l a c e pour l e s francophones * du depannage quand t u a r r i v e s E un emploi * une chambre sans vermine * l a femme! . . . p o u r me s u p p o r t e r ! * l a paix * des c o n t a c t s humains "Personne n e s e demande pourquoi un hornme s e promene pas r a s e , pas peigne dans l e downtown e a s t s i d e " ... By PAULR
TAYLOR