Ottawa Mission Continues to Cope with Unprecedented Need: Annual Impact Report

“Attempts to divert new clients from having to stay in our shelter begin as soon as they arrive. Our Intake and Diversion Case Manager assesses each client’s unique situation, and, if possible, safely diverts them to alternative housing so that they might only need to spend a night or two at The Mission, or not at all. Staff are trained to divert people from our shelter when it’s safe and responsible to do so. We take great care to ensure that when we divert a client to a family member or friend, it will not increase their risk of homelessness later on,” Added Kristin Schilkie, Manager of Housing Services.

Over this past fiscal year, The Mission diverted 59 people from ever staying in our shelter and also secured safe and appropriate housing for 165 more clients. This combined total of diverted and housed clients is more than the total number of emergency dorm beds at the shelter.

Veterans are at greater risk of homelessness due to PSTD and other factors. Linda MacMillan, Coordinator of Veteran Services with The Mission, works with veterans to find safe and appropriate housing for them as quickly as possible. “I spend a fair amount of time visiting shelters, drop-in centres, outreach agencies, encampments, and people’s homes to help veterans who don’t have stable, permanent, or appropriate housing.  This is important because these people served our country and are eligible for benefits and supports because of their service. But many don’t know about them and end up homeless or unhoused for many reasons. They are entitled to this support and should receive it.”

In addition to diversion and work with veterans, The Mission has other pathways to help secure housing for clients, including housing focused case management and rapid housing supports. Housing work is done across departments within the shelter, and The Mission partners with organizations such as the Royal to secure housing for clients that is appropriate to their needs.

Homelessness and food insecurity are closely linked as housing has been more unaffordable, even more people in Ottawa have turned to food and meal programs such as The Ottawa Mission’s food truck to ensure that they do not go hungry. Started as a response to worsening food insecurity during the pandemic with one truck, five stops and 500 meals per week, it has grown more than eight times to two trucks, over 40 stops, and almost 12,000 meals per week.

“Many people think that like homelessness, being hungry is something that will never happen to them. But food insecurity across our community has grown from one in seven to now more than one in four households. These households include seniors, children, people with disabilities, people who are working but don’t make enough to cover rent, food, and other expenses, and many others. This is why even though the pandemic is technically over, we couldn’t cut off this service from people who had come to depend on it,” noted Chef Ric Allen-Watson, Director of Food Services for The Mission.

“Sadly, we’ve also set a new record for the number of meals served: 1,223,658, or almost 20,000 more than last year. And this year, the number of meals we served from our food truck program are much more than the number served within our shelter: 683,724 meals were served from our food truck versus 539,994 at our shelter. This is a concrete demonstration of the shocking magnitude and depth of hunger across our community,” Allen-Watson added.

Tilley noted the real fiscal impact of running its 29 different programs and services, most of which receive no stable or sustainable funding from any level of government. As one example, its food truck program receives no predictable and sustainable support from any level of government. Program costs have been around $850,000 for the past few years. Now, given the impact of record prices for food, fuel and other essential elements of this program, the shelter expects the cost of this program to rise substantially.

The Mission is calling on the City of Ottawa to fund measures within its poverty reduction strategy appropriate to the level of need in our community, including measures to address food insecurity. The shelter is also urging real and sustained action by the provincial and federal governments to address the lack of affordable housing across Ottawa and Canada given that housing costs are a main driver of food insecurity.

“While we’re humbled to be able to provide these services to so many people, and very grateful to our funders and many donors, we’re also worried about our ability to meet the needs of ever-increasing numbers of people who turn to us for help. We need governments at every level to recognize the severity of homelessness and related conditions such as food insecurity in our community,” 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 2025-2026, The Ottawa Mission provided emergency shelter to an average of 187 men every night and served an average of 3,352 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, PLEASE CONTACT:
Aileen Leo
Director of Communications
T 613.234.1144 x 305
E-mail: aleo@ottawamission.com