We agree services should be accessible, which is why the Ottawa Mission runs many programs across the city, including permanent housing, addiction services, and a 40-stop food truck program.

BUT building new facilities to provide emergency services would likely face years of zoning battles and intense community opposition. The real solution is ending homelessness by investing in permanent supportive housing. 

In 2020, Ottawa declared a homelessness emergency. In 2025, homelessness has never been worse. Social service agencies do heroic work to meet the needs of vulnerable people with limited resources in every area of the city.

Complex and overlapping issues like food insecurity, and mental health challenges have significantly increased the burden on these agencies. Other social service agencies cannot simply absorb the work of shelters, as they are already operating under extreme pressure.

Shelters are not the cause of homelessness; they are a critical emergency response to a lack of affordable housing.

With 3,000 people homeless in Ottawa, shelters are preventing a far worse crisis by keeping people sheltered with few options available for affordable and supportive housing, and by providing permanent housing to our clients. Last year, The Mission successfully housed 270 people, more than our number of emergency beds. The goal is always to find permanent homes. 

Our work is built on trust. For clients to seek help, they must see our staff as trusted caregivers, not as an enforcement service.

Asking our team to police public spaces would break that trust and make vulnerable people less likely to access life-saving care. Public safety is the responsibility of dedicated and properly trained municipal services. 

This focus on care is why we stand against the criminalization of homelessness and harmful legislation like Bill 6.

Finding permanent housing is the primary goal for every person we serve.

Every client is assigned a caseworker to help them secure safe and affordable housing. In a difficult rental market, our staff successfully housed 270 people last year. This is a testament to their dedicated and tireless efforts in a very difficult housing environment. 

Our goal is to help people rebuild their lives. We offer 26 distinct programs across 8 service areas, including primary medical and dental care, addiction and trauma treatment, mental health support, job training, and housing services.

A shelter is a place of transformation, not a “warehouse” or a “megashelter”. 

This is a false conflict. One cannot function effectively without the other in a crisis. Emergency shelters and Housing First are two essential parts of the same system.

With homelessness never higher in Ottawa, shelters provide immediate, life-saving safety, while caseworkers inside the shelter focus on the “Housing First” goal of moving people into permanent homes as quickly as possible.

This is “either/or” scenario is unhelpful. With record homelessness, we need to support people in crisis now AND build long-term housing.  

Without funding for both shelters and housing, a 2024 city report projects homelessness will increase by 58%.

Governments have room to increase funding. Ontario’s per-capita spending and Ottawa’s tax rates are among the lowest in Canada.

While our emergency shelter beds and addiction services are reserved for men (cis or trans), the rest of our 26 wraparound services are open to people of all genders. This includes our community meal services, the DYMON Health Clinic, our Diane Morrison Hospice, and all of our educational and job training programs. 

The Ottawa Mission relies on community support to operate.

Community support is our primary funding source. Over 55% comes from donors, while city funding for basic shelter is less than 23%.

Our life-changing programs are donor-funded.

Our mission is to end the crisis of homelessness, not to profit from it. Every dollar we receive is reinvested into our programs and services.

The reality is that we operate with a significant funding gap. Government funding doesn’t cover the full cost of essential services like beds and meals. We rely on the generosity of our community to make up the difference.

No one is left without options. When we’re full, we partner with other agencies to ensure every person finds a safe place to stay.

Our staff will contact other shelters to find an open bed and will call the Salvation Army Outreach Van or provide taxi chits to ensure people can get there safely. Staff also inform those seeking help where they can sit at night. We also encourage clients to contact 311, so the City can refer them somewhere.

Our dorms are temporarily cleared each morning for a deep-cleaning. This ensures a safe, sanitary space with fresh linens for every client

While the dorms are cleaned, our other safe indoor spaces (like our chapel and lounge) remain open for clients to rest, or access programs.