Opinion: Ottawa needs affordable housing

Permanent, affordable housing is needed to protect Ottawa’s homeless

Towards the end of 2019, the Ottawa Mission was having difficulties sheltering all the homeless people under its roof, despite having recently expanded their housing department.

Now, both the number of meals being served per day and the number of people staying overnight have “gone down dramatically” according to Peter Tilley, CEO of the Ottawa Mission. But this is not cause for celebration. Tilley said his peers running shelters in Montreal have seen a similar downward trend, and this is because the homeless are staying away due to fears of getting sick.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 2000 people in Ottawa, has turned the Ottawa Mission’s operations – and the lives of those who utilize its services – upside down. Despite encouraging physical distancing and the wearing of personal protection equipment, the Mission’s social programs addressing mental health, addiction and trauma, and its education and job creation programs, have been forced to close. Tilley said these “wrap-around supports” are crucial for addressing the complex factors that cause someone to become and remain homeless.

For Tilley, the most difficult aspect of the pandemic has been witnessing a jump in relapse rates among clients of the Mission, many of whom had found

ABOVE: Peter Tilley has been the CEO of the Ottawa Mission since 2013. Between 2017 and 2018, chronic homelessness amongst single men rose by 10.8 per cent and among families by 13.7 per cent, while declining by 3.1 per cent among women. In that same period, the total number of people using an overnight emergency shelter in Ottawa increased.

jobs and housing. The pandemic has led to a rise in depression, anxiety and loneliness – all factors that make staying clean a challenge.

“This is hard enough for those of us living with fear and anxiety, let alone people dealing with trauma and mental health issues accompanying their addictions,” Tilley said.

Even before COVID-19 hit, the city of Ottawa was making slow progress on eliminating chronic homelessness and returning emergency shelters to stays of less than 30-days by 2024, two key commitments of its 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan, created in 2014. The plan expanded on the successes of the $16 million Housing and Homelessness Investment Plan by enhancing the focus on “prevention and support through system integration.” In Ottawa’s 2018 progress report on the 10-Year Plan, Mayor Jim Watson claimed there had been successes in increasing the supply of affordable housing, ensuring people got the supports needed to stay housed, and “working to end” chronic homelessness.

But the report also found that between 2017 and 2018, chronic homelessness amongst single men rose by 10.8 per cent and among families by 13.7 per cent, while declining by 3.1 per cent among women. In that same period, the total number of people using an overnight emergency shelter in Ottawa increased, as did the waitlist for affordable housing.

In 2019, Ottawa City Council responded to these alarming figures by committing to a $15 million investment in capital funding for new affordable housing, and by declaring a housing and homelessness emergency on January 29. Things seemed to be once again moving in the right direction, until a new state of emergency was declared for COVID-19 on March 25, overshadowing the previous emergency declaration and further complicating the city’s efforts to end homelessness.

Ottawa City Council has provided $8.4 million in funding to support emergency shelters and COVID-19 Isolation Centers for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and an additional $3 million for nonprofit community organizations. These measures included securing 113 hotel

ABOVE: The Manager of Addiction and Trauma Services Chantal Payette with a client from the ATS program (which is comprised of all five stages, including the Day and Hope Programs). CENTRE: The LifeHouse medallions, which clients receive upon graduation from that part of the ATS program. RIGHT: A previous Ottawa Mission client who now has a home.

rooms to help homeless families and council for voting on July 15. connect them with social supports. individuals physically distance until Burkholder-Harris said initiatives permanent housing is secured. Burkholder-Harris said this plan keeps such as this are an important way to the general philosophy of the original raise awareness of the plight of people Kaite Burkholder-Harris, Executive 10-year Housing and Homelessness who don’t have the option to “stay at Director of the Alliance to End plan, but is more “concrete” in terms home.” Homelessness Ottawa, said the city has of stating what will be required to end taken a “supportive and proactive” role homelessness. Erin Dej, Assistant Professor of the when it came to preventing outbreaks Department of Criminology at among the homeless population She said the plan gives Ottawa Wilfred Laurier University, said she and providing them with temporary opportunities to more directly regulate is concerned that if the Canada shelter. However, she said people need its local housing market through Emergency Response Benefit ends to be given the option to stay home mechanisms like inclusionary zoning, and the ban on residential evictions in order to prevent further spread which requires a share of all new homes is lifted, there will be a sharp rise in of COVID-19, and the homeless constructed to be affordable to people homelessness across the country. That’s population is at a higher risk of health with low incomes. why now is the time to aggressively complications from the disease. push for affordable housing, as “once The ‘Hotels 2 Homes’ campaign calls A $1 billion plan with these housing units are built, they are permanent,” according to Dej. on the Federal government to help the goal of “ending people sleeping the city of Ottawa purchase vacant hotels and turn them into affordable on the streets and reducing overall Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, Dej is optimistic it housing units. Burkholder-Harris homelessness by 25 per cent by will end up being a “catalyst for said this strategy would be more helpful than “pouring money into 2030” received the unanimous change,” as the general public and all levels of government realize temporary solutions,” and quicker endorsement from Ottawa city just how necessary housing is for than building affordable housing from scratch. The city of Ottawa council’s committee that oversees maintaining public health. seems to agree, as it recently closed social services on June 18,2020. Dej also said that compared to its month-long request for offers other cities in Canada, Ottawa to purchase hotels and motels, and and the various agencies dealing $3 million has been set aside for that with homelessness have coordinated purpose. in an “admirable” way. And as long as Burkholder-Harris hopes the plan will the current momentum on is kept up, A new plan to lift people out of lead to enhanced coordination between Dej remains confident funding can homelessness also recently emerged. the various agencies in Ottawa that be secured and properly allocated to A $1 billion plan with the goal of deal with homelessness, and better data provide “long term, sustainable and “ending people sleeping on the streets collection on the size and scope of the permanent solutions” to the problem and reducing overall homelessness by problem. “The more we can coordinate of homelessness. 25 per cent by 2030” received the our agencies in a cohesive way, the unanimous endorsement from Ottawa faster we can help people through the “There exists a strong, vocal group city council’s committee that oversees system,” she said. of people in this city, including those social services on June 18. with lived experience of being without Beginning in August, the Alliance to housing, who aren’t afraid to put The plan, which so far calls for $600 End Homelessness Ottawa and the themselves on the line and fight,” Dej million to develop between 3,000 and city will launch a week-long “Housing said. “Ottawa has what it takes to be 5,700 new housing units over the next Blitz” campaign to rapidly house a leader in preventing and ultimately 10 years, will be presented to the City vulnerable people in vacant units and ending homelessness.” n