Living on the streets and addicted to drugs at 15, Roxanne lived for only one purpose.

"We did drugs. That's basically what it came down to - and survived," she said, listing her vices: "Speed, cocaine... then after, heroin."

One of the hundreds of young faces who walk through the doors at youth charity group Dans La Rue, Roxanne's story is by no means unique.

With the help of Dans La Rue and its founder Father Emmet Johns - Pops - Roxanne found a place to come out of the cold, share her troubles and grab a meal.

"We've always been a front-line organization, being on the street close to these kids," said Dans La Rue's Executive Director Aki Tchitakov.

It was 20 years ago that the famous Dans La Rue bus first rolled out, providing street kids with a roving, non-judgmental sanctuary that accepted street kids regardless of their drug habits, appearance or background.

And though the bus still rolls out to feed Montreal's many street kids, Dans La Rue has expanded over the decades, opening a day centre in 1997, a cafeteria, counseling services, and a fully accredited high school, complete with music and art classes.

"Like any adolescent, there's a part of you that's very creative, and as much as we can we try to tap into these different types of their personality, to give them an experience outside of the street. For many, that becomes the first step in living their lives away from the street," said Tchitakov.

The only youth centre in Montreal to accept pets, Dans La Rue is dedicated to its philosophy of accepted kids for who they are.

Its mission is to be there for kids at whatever stage they might be, including when they're ready to get off the streets. A new campaign designed to teach life skills is ready for them when they're ready to move into homes.

"(They) learn how to cook, or how to do a grocery, or how to do a budget, or anything that comes along with your first place that you can call home. That's what anybody needs, more than just an apartment," said youth worker Andrea Corbin.

Roxanne is one of those students, earning her high school diploma, and living in her first apartment. She hopes to go to Cegep and become a youth worker at Dans La Rue, the place she thanks for changing her life.

Without Dans La Rue, she said: "I would still be outside. I might be dead."