The late Father Emmett Johns, known to many simply as “Pops,” is being honoured with a public square in downtown Montreal.
Place Emmett-Johns, located on de Maisonneuve Boulevard, just outside the Papineau Metro Station was inaugurated on Wednesday.
Pops was a key figure in the fight to end homelessness in the city before his death in January of 2018.
He started Dans la rue in 1988, at the age of 60, after feeling compelled to help the city’s homeless and at-risk youth.
READ MORE: Vigil held in Montreal for Father Emmett ‘Pops’ Johns
To make his dream come true, Johns borrowed $10,000 from a Caisse Populaire and bought a used motor home which he drove around the streets of Montreal, in an effort to reach out to the most vulnerable.
Today, Dans la rue, has more than 65 employees and 135 volunteers and provides various services including an emergency shelter, a day centre, apartments and of course, the Dans la rue bus.
During Wednesday’s inauguration, guests left tribute messages on a poster for Pops.
READ MORE: Former homeless teen-turned-business-owner credits ‘Pops’ for his turnaround
Many got emotional thinking about his life and work, including city councillor Sterling Downey.
“No matter how we were, how we acted as kids, he never judged us,” Downey recounted.
“He was the one adult in our life who never had a criticism. what he did was he lent support. He gave us help and he didn’t judge us. He let us be who we were and if we needed something, or someone to talk to, or a warm place to stop for a while, or something to eat, he would provide us with that.”
For Downey, a public square is the perfect tribute.
“It’s so beautiful to have a place now named after Pops where we can come and remember this father-figure,” he said.
— With files from Global’s Max Kalinowicz
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