MISSION
Founded in 1994, Dopamine is a community organization located in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve whose mission is to help, support and work alongside drug users, their families and friends, neighbourhood residents and those from surrounding areas. We focus on HIV/AIDS and hepatitis prevention, as well as the prevention of other blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections.
We employ intervention strategies in order to alleviate the negative impacts and the harm associated with the lifestyle that drug use entails, as well as the prejudices, myths and representations which exist on an individual, community and societal level.
PEOPLE USING OUR SERVICES
WELCOMING PHILOSOPHY
Through our warm, personal approach we place the individual at the core of the entire process of change and improvement in quality of life. We base our process upon trust and respect, applying intervention strategies in which people are fully recognized for their individual abilities, their choices, and the different realities that surround them. Our goal is to empower the individual, meaning that all strategies, solutions and successes come from themselves. Each of our intervention areas is an open environment suited to both collective intervention and individual support. At the heart of everything we do is a foundation of trust, enabling us to engage in a spirit of collaboration in the prevention of STIs among peers.
WE ARE PRESENT AND AVAILABLE TO…
Prevent overdose related deaths.
Build bridges between people and access to health care and other social services.
Promote and reduce the frequency of public injection and the quantity of needles discarded within the community.
Listen and support drug users and those around them within the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve community.
Offer health and social services to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as Hepatitis C and HIV.
Rejoindre les personnes plus difficiles à joindre par les autres services et créer des opportunités pour réduire la stigmatisation.
Our approaches and actions are guided by three values
HUMANITY
Humanism reminds us of the importance of focusing on the quality of life of our service users rather than on their drug use. Guided by this principle, we welcome with a warm greeting all individuals accessing our services, and provide them with judgement-free, respectful support that takes their current circumstances into account.
PROXIMITY
Proximity is defined in terms of accessibility as well as the genuine needs of the population we serve. Through this principle, we acknowledge the importance of paying full attention to the needs communicated to us. This principle is also highlighted in the role played by the organization with regards to its community and partners.
SOLIDARITY
Solidarity is embodied in the intervention team members’ commitment to building support relationships with individuals using our services.
For me, these are workshops on topics that concern us and directly affect us, as well as individual experiences that enrich us.
I like when people from the neighbourhood come to us to talk to us, it shatters taboos and people do not judge us.
I like walking down Sainte-Catherine Street and seeing the completed tree squares. I’m so proud!
It was my first time volunteering with the Green Squad Green Brigade – I liked it so much that I want to do it again and again.
It allows me to resocialize and decompress as I have a tendency to isolate myself.
I take part in Dopallies because it is a useful service for learning that has helped me to successfully change my behaviours. My way of talking with peers helps me stay focused on how to act safely. Prevention is important to me. Thank you.
It is a meeting point and exchange point that breaks my isolation. It’s warm, welcoming, helpful, and supporting me in my efforts. A privileged moment that I appreciate due to its discretion and effectiveness.
I feel useful in my neighbourhood and Sainte-Catherine Street keeps looking prettier and prettier thanks to us.
Dopamine allows me to meet people and break my isolation.
For me, Dopallies is a collection of relevant topics that help people on the street or drug users to deal with various issues that affect them.
The Green Squad helps me keep my mind off using.
Thank you for allowing us to do the Green Squad for many more years – we really care about it.
A source of information that is sometimes very useful in my daily life, an occasion to foster links with certain people, sharing without being judged… and I find it very informative.
HELP OUT
Do your part to improve our community’s quality of life! Contribute today!
HELP OUT
Do your part to improve our community’s quality of life! Contribute today!