In the midst of a growing housing and homelessness crisis, The Ottawa Mission is stretched beyond capacity.
Without a robust, coordinated response from all levels of government and the implementation of policies aimed at preventing homelessness and expanding affordable housing, shelters like ours are left to meet this critical need alone.
By sending a message directly to your elected officials, you are helping the Ottawa Mission rally for the rights and needs of the community which its serves.
In the midst of a growing housing and homelessness crisis, The Ottawa Mission is stretched beyond capacity.
Our ability to serve as a critical center for emergency shelter, food services, and addiction and trauma supports is over-burdened. The reality is stark: the number of meals we serve has skyrocketed, reaching over 1 million meals in 2023. Our wrap-around services like housing support, health care and education are in higher demand than ever before.
The Ottawa Mission calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Housing Minister Sean Fraser, to include the following 5 key policies in the 2024 Federal budget. These policies aim to address the immediate challenges of homelessness and housing insecurity, and to contribute to a long-term solution.
Without a robust, coordinated response from all levels of government and the implementation of policies aimed at preventing homelessness and expanding affordable housing, shelters like ours are left to meet this critical need alone.
By sending a message directly to your elected officials, you are helping the Ottawa Mission rally for the rights and needs of the community which its serves.
Ottawa received a meager increase of 0.4% ($845k) of the $202M provincial funding for homelessness prevention.
Ottawa declared a homelessness emergency over 3 years ago and the situation has worsened, with double the number of people sleeping outside and all shelters over 100% capacity.
Ottawa’s Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP) faces unique challenges with a significant catchment area, a large increase in asylum seekers, and a significant number of Indigenous clients.
Massive HPP underfunding will result in a $37M funding gap for Ottawa, canceling 54 supportive housing projects and 570-850 new affordable units per year.
Loss of development charges for municipalities under Bill 23 exacerbates the situation.
We urge the provincial government to reserve this decision and increase Ottawa’s HPP by $18-20M, as Ontario ended the last fiscal year with a $2.1B surplus.