We are delighted to present a new edition of our series dedicated to our members, their projects, and their customized plans at Halte. This week, we are highlighting the ROCLD team, the Regroupement des organismes communautaires de lutte au décrochage (Network of Community Organizations for Dropout Prevention).

This week, it's Gaëlle, head of communications and mobilization, who took part in the interview!

1. Can you briefly introduce ROCLD and explain what your field of activity or services consist of?

We are THE national network for all autonomous community action organizations (ACA) that have a mission or structured activity component focused on dropout prevention and that work directly with young people aged primarily 4 to 24 and their parents.

Born from community initiatives to pursue a social mission unique to them and that promotes social transformation, community dropout prevention organizations (OCLD) support and assist young people in difficulty and their parents to foster the development of every young person's full potential with the goal of inclusive, accessible, and equal educational success.

As of June 2024, ROCLD comprises around sixty community dropout prevention organizations and represents more than 900 workers and over 2,000 volunteers.

2. Why did you choose a coworking space rather than another type of office?

To connect with the sixty community dropout prevention organizations that are members of ROCLD, spread across 13 regions of Quebec, most of the activities of the core team are done remotely through telework or in the field for certain mobilization, citizen participation, collaboration, or representation activities.

Between teleworking and numerous travels, the four members of the core team, Mélanie, Pamela, Simon, and Gaëlle, all based in Montreal, need a conducive space for collaborative work to meet once a week. We appreciate the mixed format of a private office for our administrative needs and to offer the employees of the Network the possibility to work in a common workspace as needed. We greatly appreciate the accessibility of the meeting rooms for our collaborative needs, the common areas, and the exquisite terrace for our breaks!

Moreover, a special nod to one of our members, the community organization La Troisième Avenue, also based at Halte 24-7, who introduced us to this wonderful community.

To read the interview with the organization La Troisième Avenue, click here.

3. Tell us a bit about your role, your background, and the motivations that led you to create ROCLD.

(I'm answering this question from a collective perspective, as it is the nature of a network of community organizations!)

ROCLD is over 25 years old! It was born in 1996 from the mobilization of autonomous community action organizations working on dropout prevention issues. Initially, four community organizations from Montreal came together to form ROCIDEC to collectively combat school dropout. In 2004, with an increasing number of membership requests from outside Montreal, ROCIDEC received the mandate from its members to expand its representation to the entire province of Quebec and became the Regroupement des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte au décrochage – ROCQLD. The acronym ROCLD, adopted in 2014, focuses and highlights the members that make up the network (R), the community dropout prevention organizations (OCLD).

4. Can you share some details about your current projects within your team?

As the only provincial network in the field of youth education in autonomous community action, we are continuously involved in large-scale national projects aimed at social and educational transformation to address the societal, structural, and social causes of dropout. For example, we are the organizers of the National Dropout Prevention Meetings in partnership with the Regroupement des centres d'amitié autochtone du Québec and the Regroupement des écoles de la rue accréditées du Québec, a biennial event that gathers and mobilizes field actors in community settings to support young people in difficulty and their families across the province. In addition to representing the OCLD as an official interlocutor with the Ministry of Education, ROCLD contributes as an engaged member of the Réseau québécois de l'action communautaire autonome, the Coalition Interjeunes, and the Mouvement Jeunes et santé mentale.

5. What are your aspirations and projects for the coming years?

All our activities converge towards the common vision adopted by the network, which is to promote and support dropout prevention that fosters the full potential of all young people through diverse pathways, for inclusive, accessible, and equal educational success.

A plan tailored to my needs

The ROCLD team has been at Halte since last November and occupies a private office as well as several hot desks. Their plan allows them to use the conference room bank for meetings and their private space and headquarters at Halte. We are truly proud to count the organization among our active community.

Thank you, Gaëlle, for your time, which allowed us to get to know you better! We raise our glass to many more years of projects and collaboration with Halte.

To learn more about ROCLD, visit ROCLD.org

Stay tuned to our series in the coming weeks to discover other teams and their achievements within our business community!