After living in a homeless situation, a young man aged 22 was saved from the street thanks to the Center Jacques-Cartier (CJC) in Quebec which took him under its roof, allowing him to develop his passion for the kitchen.
Placed at the DPJ from a young age, Zackary Fournier returned to his mother as a teenager. Not being in an “adequate” environment, he finally moved into an apartment alone at 18. However, he found himself on the street a little later before discovering the Jacques-Cartier Residential and Community Center.
“When I arrived, it was like I opened my eyes for the first time. I had plenty of opportunities to get involved and that was what I needed,” explains the young man.
He also specifies that the Center allowed him to realize that he was capable of making a living from his passion for cooking even if he had never managed to keep a job in the field before due to his problems with punctuality and organization.
“Here, I understood that with people who focus on the positive, I was capable of accomplishing very beautiful and great things. I was finally able to exploit my skills and receive the encouragement and support that I had never really had before,” he emphasized.
Zackary Fournier, a 22-year-old formerly homeless in the company of the general coordinator of the Jacques-Cartier Center where he has been living for a year now, Édith Vallières
Photo Nicolas St-Pierre
Pay it forward
It is with this support from the CJC that he is working to create his own community organization, aiming to offer gourmet food to people who cannot afford it.
“When I was doing my cooking classes, I dreamed of having my own restaurant, but when I arrived in the community environment, I realized that I didn’t just want to cook to make money, but to bring together and make you happy,” he confided to Newspaper.
He also believes that everyone should have the right to a hearty meal, including those who cannot afford it.
Possible to get out of it
Proud of the path he has traveled, Zackary Fournier now wants to share his story in order to show that it is possible to “find the right path despite the difficult trials of life”.
“There is a way out and you shouldn’t hesitate to ask for help. I’m not necessarily talking about going to see a professional, but just having a small community, it allows you to come together and create links and then move towards a common point. The important thing is to keep hope because everything always works out in the end.”
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