Hundreds of people sleeping on the streets every night, thousands being fed at The Ottawa Mission.
The pandemic, inflation and mental illness expose the other side of Ottawa, and the Mission is now coping with an unprecedented demand for food and shelter.
Ottawa, ON – Today the Ottawa Mission released its annual Impact Report outlining its support of increasing numbers of vulnerable community members over its past fiscal year.
“Our community and our shelter has weathered over two years of the pandemic. Things look somewhat brighter now than they did earlier, but the lingering effects are still severe,” stated Mission CEO Peter Tilley. For example, the number of people sleeping outside has almost doubled, and there have been devastating increases in mental health problems, substance use and overdoses.
But the most severe change has been a shocking increase in hunger across Ottawa. “Prior to the pandemic, we served 495,360 meals annually. This past year, we served 938,218 meals. That means we served almost one meal for every person in Ottawa,” noted Chef Ric Allen-Watson, the Mission’s Director of Food Services.
In response to deepening hunger across our community, The Mission launched its food truck program in September 2020. Beginning with one truck and five stops, it served 500 meals per week. Since that time, it has expanded to two trucks and 32 stops serving over 7,000 meals per week. The Mission also operates a community meal program through its shelter, providing one hot and two cold meals to each person plus a small bag of groceries. This past fiscal year, the shelter handed out 62,624 bags of groceries. “Many clients have told us that they go hungry until our trucks come. Other clients have told us that our food truck helps them with family dinners since the cost of groceries has risen so much,” added Allen-Watson.
Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic over the past year, the shelter continued to support increasing numbers of vulnerable community members who have turned to it for help. Support has included:
Adam, a former client of The Mission now over 14 years sober, was provided support in addition to addiction treatment to reclaim his life, including help to secure affordable housing and supports to live independently. Adam works as a technician for Rogers. Through the company’s Employee Resource team, as an expression of his gratitude to The Mission, he organized the donation of 250 Bags of Hope with socks, hats, gift cards and other supplies, along with handwritten notes for Mission shelter guests to show them that they are cared for. Noting the importance of gratitude, “Altruism is what keeps me sober and happy. I have gold to share that’s worthless if kept to myself,” Adam stated.
Given the increased number of vulnerable people who rely on the Mission for help, Peter Tilley noted the importance of both continuing existing programs and also offering new programs to continue to meet this growing need. New programs that are part of The Mission’s new strategic plan will include:
“Poverty, homelessness and hunger are inextricably linked. We’re happy that we can provide nourishing food to so many in need, and have deep gratitude to our donors who support this service. But as a city and a society, we need to address the root causes of these problems to help even more people in need by stopping them from falling into poverty, homelessness and hunger to begin with,” Tilley concluded.
About The Ottawa Mission
Since 1906, The Ottawa Mission has been serving the homeless, the hungry and the lost by providing food, clothing, shelter and skills. In 2019-2020, The Ottawa Mission provided emergency shelter to an average of 118 men every night and served an average of 2,570 meals every day. The Ottawa Mission also provides to men and women health services, mental health and addiction treatment programs, hospice care, dental services, housing services, educational support, job training, spiritual care, and clothing to thousands in need in our community. In September 2020, The Ottawa Mission marked the one millionth hour that the shelter has been in existence since its founding in 1906. In 2019, the Mission became a housing-focused shelter reflective of its commitment to a home for everyone as a human right with the launch of a new housing department.
FOR INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW PLEASE CONTACT:
Aileen Leo
Director of Communications
T. 613.234.1144 x 305
C. 613-712-3092
E-mail: aleo@ottawamission.com
Ottawa, ON – As we head into the fall, planning is well underway for The Ottawa Mission’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner at its shelter, which will take place on Monday, October 10th, and also from October 3 – 9 through its food truck program.
COVID-19 protocols keep shelter guests, community members, employees and volunteers safe while we continue to deliver essential support at the shelter. Accordingly, the meal for shelter guests will begin at 11:00 a.m. in The Mission dining room. The Thanksgiving meal for community members will also be available at the garage entrance beginning at 11:00 a.m. To continue to support vulnerable community members as much as possible, The Mission will also continue to provide two additional meals for community members to take with them. The Mission’s food truck program will also serve a full Thanksgiving meal to everyone who accesses this service the week prior to the October 10 meal.
On any given day, The Ottawa Mission serves over 3,000 meals to shelter residents and those in need in the community. This past Easter, with the addition of a second truck to our food truck program in response to shocking increases in hunger across Ottawa, the shelter quadrupled the number of meals it provides during special holidays from 2,500 to 10,084 meals. Due to the increasing incidence of hunger across our community, the shelter anticipates serving up to 12,000 meals this Thanksgiving.
“It will take about 6,000 pounds of turkey to feed everyone who comes to our special Thanksgiving dinner,” says Chef Ric Watson, Director of Food Services at The Mission. “Our kitchen volunteers and staff are working very hard to ensure that everyone will have a delicious turkey dinner by preparing for this very special event in advance.”
Also on the menu will be: 3000 lbs. peeled potatoes; 2000 lbs. glazed fresh carrots; 150 Gallons of gravy; and 900 vegetarian quiche.
Frozen turkey donations can be dropped off between 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the garage entrance to The Ottawa Mission at the corner of Waller and Besserer. Please ring the bell and a staff-person will arrive to receive your donation. Monetary donations to support the Thanksgiving meal are also appreciated and can be made at: https://ottawamission.com/donate/.
About The Ottawa Mission
Since 1906, The Ottawa Mission has been serving the homeless, the hungry and the lost by providing food, clothing, shelter and skills. In 2019-2020, The Ottawa Mission provided emergency shelter to an average of 197 men every night and served an average of 1,422 meals every day. The Ottawa Mission also provides to men and women health services, mental health and addiction treatment programs, hospice care, dental services, housing services, educational support, job training, spiritual care, and clothing to thousands in need in our community. In September 2020, The Ottawa Mission marked the one millionth hour that the shelter has been in existence since its founding in 1906. In 2019, the Mission became a housing-focused shelter reflective of its commitment to a home for everyone as a human right with the launch of a new housing department.
FOR INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW PLEASE CONTACT:
Aileen Leo
Director of Communications
T. 613.234.1144 x 305
C. 613-712-3092
E-mail: aleo@ottawamission.com
Ottawa residents were trying their best to keep cool under dangerous conditions on Sunday, with temperatures making it feel like 40 degrees.
For those who live on the streets, escaping the heat is proving difficult.
Since its founding in 1979, Hobin Architecture has been dedicated to two main goals: 1) the design and completion of beautiful, livable buildings for its clients; and 2) community engagement to support our most vulnerable citizens.
As part of its contribution to those in need, Hobin Architecture has long been engaged with many community organizations, including The Ottawa Mission. The firm has lent the shelter its design talents to expand the Diane Morrison Hospice to care for those needing palliative care, and renovations to its former LifeHouse building adjacent to the shelter to transform it into an expanded primary care clinic for people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness. Hobin architect Gord Lorimer is also a long-time board member of The Mission. And the firm has been involved in the community-oriented affordable projects like the redevelopment of Beaver Barracks, the Bethany Hope Centre, The Haven, the Multifaith Housing Initiative, and provided support to Cornerstone Housing for Women.
Hobin’s enduring support of The Mission is founded in the desire to see all members of the community have access to a home that meets their needs. “The lack of affordable housing and the risk of homelessness in our community has reached levels never seen before. Our sense of corporate social responsibility is based on working to ensure that people who need support have it,” says Reinhard Vogel – Senior Technologist, Partner. “We know that The Mission will do great things with our support.”
“This will go a long way to meeting the needs of our clients during the summer months when donations traditionally ebb,” noted Mission CEO Peter Tilley. “On behalf of our clients, thank you.”
Help contribute to Hobin’s support of the Summer of Hope campaign by visiting: ottawamission.com/match2022
“When the pandemic struck, there was no food truck at the Mission shelter, which used to serve mostly in the Waller Street dining room. Then came one, on loan.”
Our daily bread was once a mere menu thought — now it’s a costed worry, maybe an outright prayer.
So it occurs in Tuesday’s brilliant sunshine as the Ottawa Mission’s No. 2 food truck pulls into a church parking lot on Prince Albert Street in east-end Overbrook. The line is there already — it may be the best meal they get all day, “all week” one woman ventured.
Ottawa, ON – As Ottawa has entered its third year of dealing with the ongoing pandemic, The Ottawa Mission announced the addition of a second food truck and 13 new stops to its Mobile Mission Meals program, which started in September 2020, to meet the shocking increase in hunger across the city. This will provide an additional 7,000 meals per week.
“This program continues to experience unprecedented growth in response to the worsening level of hunger in Ottawa due to the continuing pandemic, the lack of affordable housing, and other factors,” stated Ottawa Mission CEO Peter Tilley.
Beginning with one truck which provided 100 meals at each of its five stops back in September 2020, the shelter has now added an additional truck and a further 26 stops across Ottawa serving 14 times the original number of meals. The second truck and the additional 12 stops were added the week prior to Easter and served a full special holiday meal with all the trimmings.
“In 2019, the last Easter meal before the pandemic, The Ottawa Mission served 2,659 Easter meals. Last week, through our shelter and our food truck program, we served 10,084 meals. This is a new record for one of our special meals and four times the number of meals we served for Easter 2019,” noted The Mission’s Director of Food Services Chef Ric Allen-Watson.
“Every single day our truck goes out and people line up to receive the meals they need to survive. People with walkers, in wheelchairs, and with their kids. People who never worried about feeding themselves and their families until Covid-19 come to our truck to survive. Clients have told us that they go hungry, sometimes for days, until our truck comes. Think of that: not eating for an entire day – or two, or three, or more. Other clients have told us that our food truck helps them with family dinners since the cost of groceries has risen so much. Think of that: worrying about feeding yourself – and your children,” Allen-Watson added.
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, The Mission had served just over 520,000 meals annually. Now, into our third year of the pandemic, The Mission will serve almost 1 million meals to people who would otherwise go hungry – the equivalent of almost one meal for every person who lives in Ottawa.
The press conference was held in Regina Towers, a building owned by Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), which provides social and affordable housing in Ottawa. OCH Board Chair Councillor Mathieu Fleury noted the importance of The Mission’s food truck program to vulnerable community members across Ottawa. “The pandemic has highlighted the real struggles with access to food among residents. The Ottawa Mission, with its long history in Ottawa, responded positively to emerging needs by investing in its approach, which provides warm meals with Chef Ric’s social enterprise kitchen and food truck. The food truck has demonstrated enormous success by offering 4,000 meals per week. We are happy to see the arrival of the second truck, which will serve 12 new locations – and will serve an additional 3,000 meals per week.”
Ottawa Community Housing CEO Stéphane Giguère confirmed the importance of the shelter’s food truck program to OCH residents in particular, whose residences host several food truck stops per week. “Since September 2020, the Mission Food Truck has provided an invaluable service to tenants living in OCHC communities. We know food insecurity is a real issue – and we are grateful for partners such as the Ottawa Mission who help us meet the diverse needs of 32,000 residents.”
Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, whose ward includes Regina Towers, noted the factors that leave many of her constituents having to choose between paying their rent and feeding themselves and their families. “Ottawa has the highest shortfall for residents receiving Ontario Disability Support Payments and Ontario Works and the poverty line. And for those making minimum wage in Ottawa, 59% have less than $100 left after paying housing and utilities costs each month. Who could live on less than $100 after paying these costs? I couldn’t. And no one else should have to either. I’m grateful to The Mission for establishing this new food truck stop and others in my ward so people here don’t go hungry.”
Terry Nichols, President of Urbandale, a main food truck program sponsor, noted the company’s expanded support for the program. “We believe in building strong communities and value our partnerships. We’re particularly pleased to support The Ottawa Mission, our community’s oldest and largest homeless shelter. As The Mission says, it is more than a shelter. Not only does it provide both emergency support such as food, clothing and shelter, but it also offers programs for people to rebuild their lives. That’s why we decided to support this food truck initiative in 2020 and why we’re especially proud to continue to support it in its expanded format. This initiative has gone and will continue to go a long way go to address hunger in our community and ensure that people who need healthy meals get them.”
Donna Gibson, Commercial Account Manager at RBC, affirmed her organization’s support as well. “The RBC Foundation is proud to support The Ottawa Mission’s food truck program. As a corporate leader, people look to us to step up on issues that demand leadership. By supporting this program, we’re reducing hunger in our community. COVID-19 has brought serious systemic issues to light, including food insecurity. That’s why it’s important to support community partners like The Ottawa Mission, who are taking actions to address these issues.”
Peter Tilley concluded the event by noting the importance of partnerships across sectors while also addressing the roots causes of hunger. “No one should have to go hungry. The Mission is grateful to partner with Ottawa Community Housing, Councillor Kavanagh, and our supporters Urbandale and RBC, to meet the needs of our community for warm and nutritious meals. We also need to address the fact that while we have valued partners such as OCH, over 40% of tenants in Ottawa live in unaffordable housing, and almost 10% live in housing in need of major repairs or unsuitable to their needs. We also need to address the failure of income supports to keep pace with the cost of living, which is rising faster than it has for the past 30 years. We need to expand affordable and appropriate housing options in our community and improve income supports for our most vulnerable community members, as well as look at new programs such as basic income options.”
About The Ottawa Mission
Since 1906, The Ottawa Mission has been serving those who are homeless, hungry and lost by providing food, clothing, shelter and skills. In 2020-2021, The Ottawa Mission provided emergency shelter to an average of 185 men every night and served an average of 1,994 meals every day. The Ottawa Mission also provides to men and women health services, mental health and addiction treatment programs, hospice care, dental services, housing services, educational support, job training, spiritual care, and clothing to thousands in need in our community. In September 2020, The Ottawa Mission marked the one millionth hour that the shelter has been in existence since its founding in 1906. In 2019, the Mission became a housing-focused shelter reflective of its commitment to a home for everyone as a human right with the launch of its housing department. Visit ottawamission.com to learn more.
FOR INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW PLEASE CONTACT:
Aileen Leo
Director of Communications
T. 613.234.1144 x 305
C. 613-712-3092
E-mail: aleo@ottawamission.com
Ottawa, ON – During The Ottawa Mission’s special Easter meal service, which was held on April 18 for shelter guests in our dining room and community members through our service entrance, as well as the week prior through our Mobile Mission Meals food truck program, the shelter served 10,084 meals to those in need. Shelter guests and community members enjoyed a full roast beef dinner on April 18, while Mobile Mission Meals clients took home a delicious turkey dinner.
The current pandemic has resulted in shocking increases in hunger in Ottawa. To meet this deepening need, The Mission has added a second truck and an additional 12 stops to its food truck program. The program began in September 2020 with 5 stops serving 100 meals at each stop and has grown over the course of the pandemic to now 31 stops serving about 7,000 meals per week to people in need across the city of Ottawa.
“This is a new record for one of our special meals and four times the number of meals we served for Easter 2019, the last Easter before the pandemic. The astounding increase in hunger in our community is one reason why we’ve expanded our food truck program several times across our community,” noted Chef Ric Allen-Watson, Director of Food Services for the Mission. In 2019, the shelter served 2,659 Easter meals.
“Ottawa was already in a homelessness emergency and an opioid-use epidemic when Covid-19 came upon us. And now hunger is at urgent levels across our city because of the pandemic. Given the overwhelming impact on our collective mental health, finances, food insecurity, and risk of homelessness, we anticipate remaining the first place of refuge for even more vulnerable people after Covid-19 has passed,” noted Ottawa Mission CEO Peter Tilley.
“Our dedicated volunteers and also our exceptional kitchen staff worked very hard to ensure that everyone had a delicious Easter. And special thanks to our donors and supporters who have been profoundly generous in their continuing support of The Mission in these continuing difficult times. A huge thank you to all,” Tilley concluded.
About The Ottawa Mission
Since 1906, The Ottawa Mission has been serving those who are homeless, hungry and lost by providing food, clothing, shelter and skills. In 2020-2021, The Ottawa Mission provided emergency shelter to an average of 185 men every night and served an average of 1,994 meals every day. The Ottawa Mission also provides to men and women health services, mental health and addiction treatment programs, hospice care, dental services, housing services, educational support, job training, spiritual care, and clothing to thousands in need in our community. In September 2020, The Ottawa Mission marked the one millionth hour that the shelter has been in existence since its founding in 1906. In 2019, the Mission became a housing-focused shelter reflective of its commitment to a home for everyone as a human right with the launch of its housing department. Visit ottawamission.com to learn more.
FOR INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW PLEASE CONTACT:
Aileen Leo
Director of Communications
T. 613.234.1144 x 305
C. 613-712-3092
E-mail: aleo@ottawamission.com
Since last Monday, the Mission has served 10,084 special Easter meals to its clients, enlisting two trucks to distribute the food.
Not everyone can afford a hot Easter meal this weekend.
The Ottawa Mission says the demand and need for food is greater than ever in the community.
The shelter has added a new mobile food truck just in time to deliver meals to more neighbourhoods this holiday weekend.
“We have been out all week going out into different communities in Ottawa, communities where people would not see an Easter dinner,” said Peter Tilley, CEO of Ottawa Mission.
