Meeting the Need

Over four years after City Council declared a homelessness emergency in Ottawa, homelessness has returned to catastrophic levels.

The chronic lack of affordable and supportive housing, post-pandemic mental health distress, substance use, job loss, and continuing inflation for food and rent, have pushed The Mission’s capacity to cope to the limit.

In 2023, the number of asylum seekers arriving at The Mission increased significantly. Given the lack of available emergency dorm beds and chapel mats (and no beds elsewhere, since all shelters in Ottawa are full), on average, 27 people slept on chairs in our lounge each night.

Housing workers, who normally work to find housing for clients, are busy helping these arrivals navigate registering as refugees. And our meal numbers, which doubled during the pandemic and topped over one million last year, climbed even higher to over 1.1 million this year.

Many refugees report receiving no government support and turning to us for necessities, since many organizations that deal with refugees are also at overcapacity.

In November, The Mission wrote to the federal Ministers of Housing and Immigration to express our concern, noting the severity of homelessness in Ottawa and also that the City cannot solve this problem on its own.

We urged the federal government to come forward with immediate supports for refugee claimants in Ottawa.

Your support helps vulnerable people to reclaim their lives. On behalf of our clients, thank you.

Peter Tilley
CEO, The Ottawa Mission

Peter Saunders
Chair, Board of Directors, The Ottawa Mission