Published in the Brossard Journal

The start of December means the unofficial start of the holiday season – and with that comes the endless Christmas parties and end-of-semester celebrations, in addition to folks just going out to enjoy a night on the town.

It also marks the beginning of Operation Nez Rouge each year. The non-profit organization ensures revellers get to fully enjoy their festivities and still return home safely in their own vehicles.

On a cold, mid-December evening, the Journal visited the organization’s Brossard locale to experience firsthand a night of what Nez Rouge is all about.

10:31 p.m. After arriving at and getting a tour of this year’s designated base – it changes each year – it’s time to watch a brief training video on the organization and how it rolls. Whether new or returning, all volunteers must watch it each year, says Marie Gervais, coordinator for the Longueuil-Rive Sud branch of Nez Rouge. The branch also covers Longueuil, Boucherville, Greenfield Park, Lemoyne, St-Hubert, and St-Lambert.

From Sunday to Thursday, the phone lines are open from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.; on Fridays and Saturdays, it begins at 7 p.m. to accommodate the increase in party-goers on the weekend. While no calls are taken after 3 a.m., all those that come in by the deadline are serviced, “even if that means being out at 5 a.m.,” Gervais points out.

A television hangs from the wall in the main waiting area, which features nearly a dozen tables. There are newspapers to peruse and a kitchen with snacks and drinks – coffee among them – to fuel the volunteers.

11:09 p.m. The first call comes in for the volunteers of Group 6, the one the Journal will be a part of. It includes Gervais, veteran volunteer Jean-Guy (over 10 years) and Emilie (four years). The groups are always trios: the chauffeur, who drives the client’s car; the navigator, who ensures the client is okay during the ride and prepares the receipt at the end; and the escort driver, who drives the Nez Rouge van.

11:22 p.m. After de-icing the organization’s van, the volunteers head off to their first call. Jean-Guy will be the chauffeur, Emilie will be the navigator, and Gervais handles the escort driver duties.

11:35 p.m. The first pick-up is a man who had been at a club with friends. He’s no stranger to Nez Rouge, having requested the service in the past. He offers no visible signs of inebriation. A car seat means no room for a journalist; clients always sit in the backseat of their car for the drive home while the chauffeur and navigator ride up front.

“It’s becoming rarer and rarer that we get clients that are heavily intoxicated,” notes Gervais, who has been involved for about 16 years. “What I have noticed is that the age group has changed. It used to be a lot of older clients. These days, a lot of people calling in are younger.”

12:06 a.m. The client is dropped off and a radio call is made to the Brossard office for the next pick-up.

With nearly 30 years combined between the three volunteers, the stories are aplenty.

“Last year, there was a pick-up that was going to [a destination about 25 minutes away]. We picked up the man and had almost reached our destination when he realized he forgot his wife at the bar,” shares Gervais. “So, we had to turn around and go all the way back to get her.

“What happened was, when the group came to get them, his wife was in the bathroom. He only realized it as he got closer to home.”

12:24 a.m. The van arrives at its next destination – another club where two men are ready to call it a night.

“This is a really convenient service,” acknowledges one of the men, in reference to Nez Rouge.

While Nez Rouge does its job to ensure safety on the roads, the organization also goes to schools to spread the message. Their audience is typically Grade 10 and 11 students.

“We give them special glasses that mimic a person’s state once they’ve reached the 0.08 limit. We then have them do the same tests the police do with suspected intoxicated drivers,” explains Gervais. “They’re more aware when they see the impact.”

12:47 a.m. The two men are dropped off and another call is made. The group checks in with the central office once the client is picked up and once they are dropped off.

Overall, the weekends are the busiest. And as it gets closer to Christmas, the demand inevitably increases, regardless of the day of the week. The nights of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feature a high volume of family pick-ups, which also often includes a lot of presents to go with. In situations where the volunteers plus the passengers exceeds the car’s limits, the least inebriated ride in the Nez Rouge van.

Each client is guaranteed confidentiality. While their name and location are noted initially, the information is blacked out on the receipt they are given at their final destination.

Most clients use the service in good faith. But there are people who try to take advantage.

“One time I was with a group and we picked up a woman who had called in. She asked us to take her to the movies,” Jean-Guy recalls. “She didn’t even have a car!”

1:03 a.m. The next client is one of the few remaining from his company Christmas party at a local establishment. He’s turned to the organization in the past and has also volunteered his time. Like the other passengers before him, any influence of alcohol isn’t obvious.

Conversation flows freely during the drive. It includes discussion on the positives of calling upon Nez Rouge and leads the client to reminisce about a story from a previous call some years ago.

“When they came to get me, the volunteer went on stage and into the microphone said, ‘Nez Rouge’ for [client’s name].’ And when I looked up, I saw it was my boss!” he reveals with a laugh. “At his retirement party, as he was making the rounds, he said to me he’ll always remember that night I came to pick you up for Nez Rouge.”

1:36 a.m. The friendly client is returned home. A few minutes later in the Nez Rouge van, a new pick-up is on the docket.

2:03 a.m. It’s a sense of déjà-vu as the trio returns to an area it had already visited earlier in the night. This time, though, it’s a different bar and for the first time, it’s a female patron. There are nearly 20 minutes of downtime, with the client parked far from her location.

2:38 a.m. The young woman is dropped off. Group 6 calls into central office, but not in search of a new client. It’s time to head back.

More stories are shared.

The van of volunteers returns to the Brossard base at 3 a.m. After goodbyes and thank-yous are exchanged, there is one story recounted on the return to the central office that epitomizes what Nez Rouge is all about.

“There was a family pick-up one time – mom, dad, a little boy and a little girl,” begins Gervais. “When they got to the destination and the boy took the driver’s hand and held it all the way to the door. At the door, he thanked the driver and said, now dad’s car won’t be broken and mom won’t be upset.

“It made us realize that obviously alcohol had been a factor before. And after that drop-off, one of the volunteers said to me, ‘I didn’t know why I had decided to do this. Now I do’.