Ottawa homeless shelters are seeing a surge of asylum seekers showing up at their doors, raising fears that the refugee housing crisis overwhelming Toronto shelters could be spreading to the capital.

Peter Tilley, CEO of the Ottawa Mission, said a record number of migrants have come to the shelter on Waller Street in recent weeks.

Tilley was “floored” when he saw the data. Of 228 new intakes at the shelter since the beginning of June, 87 were newcomers. He said most of those were refugee claimants.

“That would be more than triple, even quadruple, the amount of refugee claimants we would normally have,” he said.

“We’re already at over capacity dealing with the homeless population of Ottawa,” he explained. “So we’re certainly struggling to handle this overflow.”

Martine Dore, director of programs and services at Cornerstone Housing for Women, has seen a 50 per cent increase in newcomers seeking shelter there over just the past three months. Again, most are refugee claimants. She fears for what will happen if the influx pushes more people onto the streets.

“I saw the stories about Toronto and it broke my heart, and it made me very anxious about what we’re going to be facing here as we move forward,” said Dore, who added her shelter is already chronically full.

“It’s just one more pressure on a system that’s already severely overtaxed.”

‘I was afraid’

Canada had processed nearly 60,000 applications from asylum seekers as of June, the highest mid-year count going back to at least 2015.

Thousands have shown up at Toronto’s emergency shelters. The number of asylum seekers there rose from 530 per night in September 2021 to 2,800 this May, and led to dozens camping out in front of an intake office downtown.

Shelter says it’s serving more people than ever

The Ottawa Mission says its Easter meals have been more popular than ever this year — a reflection of massive food insecurity in the nation’s capital.

The emergency shelter, which provides both regular daily meals and special meals for certain holidays, says it’s set an all-time record this year for the number of people served on one Easter weekend.

“The inflation is driving food costs up so high, people can’t afford to put an Easter dinner on,” said chef Ric Allen-Watson, the Mission’s food services director.

“Even a regular dinner is difficult.”

Our emergency shelters have steadily added beds over the years. These shelters exist due to service gaps caused by stagnant government funding.

The Mission’s two food trucks were out in the community all week, providing Thanksgiving dinners to those in need. In all, the Mission served a record 13,605 holiday meals by the time the kitchen closed Monday.

A record number of people turned to the Ottawa Mission for a Thanksgiving dinner this year with the rising cost of food and housing eating into the budgets of more city residents.

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 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.

“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.”

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.