Hope (Fraser Health Commentary) – How does a mother say thank-you to those who made it possible for her son to get treatment and housing? France Larouche did so in a very public way.
France Larouche spent the last five years wondering if her son, Luc, would live to see another day. Like many people living with substance use challenges, Luc experienced periods of homelessness and was often seen on the streets of Hope, with his faithful dog by his side.
Thanks to a compassionate community and Fraser Health’s Rapid Access to Addictions Treatment (RACC) and Integrated Homelessness Action Response Team(s) (IHART), Luc is now reunited with his mother and continuing treatment near Montreal.
With permission, we are sharing France’s thank-you to the community. In a phone conversation, she expressed deep appreciation for the Fraser Health teams who supported her son, noting that “the IHART team does so much with so little. Without them, I wouldn’t have my son with me now.”
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I want to share our story.
For the past three years, my son was homeless in your city. Some of you may have met him or seen him. He was the young French guy from Quebec with his blue-eyed dog. In Hope, he was known as Luke.
As a mother, I spent five years worried sick, with very little communication from him. Three years ago, I learned that he was living in Hope. I reached out to the shelter hoping to get news of my son, and I also followed this Facebook page.
One day, I saw a post showing his dog standing alone in the street with its leash still attached. I knew he was never apart from his dog, and I immediately imagined the worst. I contacted many of the people who had commented on that post and eventually connected with someone who knew him and went looking for him.
That was three years ago. From that moment on, an incredible woman from Hope and I began a journey to help save my son. It was a long and difficult road.
Today, I am overwhelmed with happiness, gratitude, and thankfulness to have my son back home, healthy and in good spirits.
One month ago, I traveled from Quebec to Hope to bring my son and his dog home. Walking through the streets felt surreal. I knew every corner and every place because for years I had followed his journey through the eyes of my angel in Hope. Seeing the shelter with my own eyes broke my heart.
I am so proud of my son. He survived life on the streets and overcame addiction. He worked incredibly hard to get back on his feet and push through the pain of withdrawal. I promised him that the day he walked out of rehabilitation, I would be there waiting for him. And I was. But it wasn’t just me—there was an entire team of people who believed in him.
None of this would have been possible without them.
To Debbie—our angel, my sister for life—thank you. You treated my son as if he were your own. You are now his West Coast mom. Not just you welcomed my son in your own house but your son Jason Stovin was also so involved in this surreal and hard journey I love you Jason your are an awesome guy
To Crystal from the RAAC Centre, thank you for knocking on doors, making calls, and doing everything possible to get his detox and rehabilitation started. You believed in him when he was ready, and because of you, he got the bed he needed at Kinghaven what an awesome place thank you so much to take my son in, thank you Kyle for being such a great mentor during his stay at Kinghaven thank you Shonet from the helping ministry who took care of organizing his paperwork to Quebec, I did met you that same day when Luke Grenier Corbeil and I went to Hope to get his dog this was such an emotional moment
Thank you as well to Jaylene and Tracy from IHART, who looked up to him, Tamara from the RAAC Centre, and Toni, who lovingly cared for my son’s dog while he was in detox and rehab.
This team is truly amazing. The devotion, compassion, and dedication you show to helping the homeless in your community is extraordinary. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
I am sure there are many others like my son, with families praying every day for their recovery and safe return home.
To Debbie, Crystal, Jaylene, Tracy, Tamara, Toni, and every member of the Hope community who helped my son along the way—thank you for being part of bringing my son home.
I will be forever grateful
He is now continuing his rehabilitation in Montreal and visiting us the weekend he is doing amazingly well ❤️
