Yanick Brunette and Guillaume Larivière-Durocher are embarking on a journey to raise awareness—and funds to counter poverty in their hometown.
On Saturday, August 19, they are cycling from Québec City to Hawkesbury and plan to do the trip in just four days, arriving in Hawkesbury on August 22. They are calling it Vent de face (headwind) to emphasize the cause they are raising funds for, and the challenge of their journey.
Brunette and Larivière-Durocher are both 32 years old and have been friends since they were two years old. They reconnected after a 10-year-gap where Larivière-Durocher studied at Université Laval and lived in Québec City. Brunette served in the Canadian Army, worked at Ivaco Rolling Mills, and is currently earning a master’s degree in nutrition and bio-food Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Larivière-Durocher works as a psychotherapist at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital Mental Health and Regional Addiction Centre. Both see the effects of poverty in the community through their professional work and academic research. They also recall growing up in Hawkesbury and knowing some of their neighbours and classmates lived in poverty and with food insecurity.
According to research compiled by Brunette and Dr. Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson at School of Health Sciences and Nutrition at the University of Ottawa, in Hawkesbury, 30.4 per cent of children aged 0 to 5 live in a household whose income is below the poverty line, which is almost three times higher than the average Ontario rate of 12.4 per cent. Among children in Hawkesbury, 27 per cent are from a household below the poverty line in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, even though Hawkesbury’s population represents 11 per cent of the total population of the counties.
According to national census data, in 2020, median after-tax household income in Hawkesbury was $49,200, which puts it at the bottom of the provincial ranking. In comparison, the median income for Ontario as a whole was $79,500. The rates of individuals living below the poverty line are well above the Ontario average, reaching 20.6 per cent in Hawkesbury compared to 10.1 per cent in Ontario.
According to information from Brunette, the latest report on food insecurity published by the PROOF research program in 2021 found about 16 per cent of Ontario citizens find themselves in a situation of food insecurity. Moreover, households headed by single-parent women have a higher risk of experiencing food insecurity, reaching a rate of 38.1 per cent. Brunette and Fontaine-Bisson note that even though there are no specific food insecurity statistics for Hawkesbury, food insecurity for households headed by single-parent women is a reality in the town due to the rate of poverty, low graduation rates, and the fact 18.2 per cent of Hawkesbury households are headed by a single parent woman. The Ontario rate is 13.6 per cent.
Brunette has been an avid cyclist for 10 years, Larivière-Durocher only began in 2022. In October 2022, they went on their first long-distance ride, a 200-kilometre, round trip from Hawkesbury to Ottawa and back in a single day. In November 2022, Brunette proposed a longer trip, and they decided on going from Québec City to Hawkesbury. Once they decided to make the trip, Larivière-Durocher had another idea.
“We might as well do it for a cause,” he said.
After some research, Brunette and Larivière-Durocher decided to use their trip as a fundraiser for Groupe Action. The Hawkesbury-based agency provides complementary health and early childhood education services to residents requiring them. While fundraising is one aspect of their 550-kilometre trip, Brunette and Larivière-Durocher want to encourage others to become aware of the challenges facing many people in Hawkesbury and to do their part to help reduce those challenges.
“What we really want to create is a positive impact,” Larivière-Durocher said.
“There are so many factors that are obstacles to things in the community,” commented Brunette.
“Any way someone can help is going to have an impact,” he emphasized.
The two friends are not following any highways of significance with amenities like restaurants and motels during their Vent de face ride. They plan to mostly follow forest access roads through a series of parks and wildlife reserves. On the second and third days, they will be in isolated wilderness, camping overnight.
To support Vent de face and its fundraiser for Groupe Action, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/vent-de-face . All donations go directly to Groupe Action, which is a registered charity, so donors will be issued receipts for income tax purposes. For updates on Brunette and Larivière-Durocher’s trip, go to their website https://www.ventdeface.ca/ , Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094465470538 , or Instagram at Ventdeface550.
