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Tilley: Ottawa budget — we need more resources to tackle homelessness

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

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On March 1, Ottawa council will confirm the city’s 2023 budget.

In 2020, council unanimously declared a housing and homelessness emergency. We appreciate support in the 2023 budget for housing, including operating and repairing social housing, rent supplements, housing allowances and homelessness programs. However, the $15 million allocated for new affordable housing has not increased since it was introduced in 2019.

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The Ottawa Mission is concerned because in Ottawa:

• For every one unit of affordable rent built, seven are lost;

• Average rents increased more than 14 per cent in 2022, with one-bedroom apartments now costing about $2,000. Many people are using food banks and meal programs so they can pay their rent.

• According to the city, 10 per cent of those in emergency shelters are employed and cannot afford these staggering rents.

• We appreciate the city’s support of Ottawa Community Housing, with whom we partner to secure affordable housing for our clients, and also through stops at OCH buildings for our food-truck program. However, there are 12,000 individuals on the Social Housing Registry of Ottawa’s waitlist, many whom wait for years;

• By the city’s estimate, there are more than 200 individuals sleeping outside — a public health emergency.

The city adjudicates community needs and requires support from the provincial and federal governments for housing. However, the value of the $15 million for new affordable housing within the city’s 10-year housing plan has declined over time due to inflation and the increasing numbers of people needing services.

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The budget has increased since 2019 and now tops $5.5 billion. We urge council to increase funds for new affordable housing from $15 million to at least $20 million given the need for affordable housing.

We also appreciate the $4.55 million for community safety, well-being and social investments. However, given the impact of the pandemic, the homelessness and opioid emergencies, and inflation, we urge council to increase this figure to reflect the true need for support.

Questions have arisen regarding the role of emergency shelters in addressing homelessness. Supposedly shelters are “warehouses” with no programming beyond emergency services to help clients. In addition to emergency shelter, The Ottawa Mission provides meals to shelter guests and community clients through our food trucks. Last year, we served 938,218 meals across Ottawa, given the shocking increases in hunger.

We also provide mental health and addiction programs, primary, hospice and dental care, housing, employment and educational support, job training, spiritual care, and clothing to thousands. We’re a housing-focused shelter committed to housing as a human right. In addition to working with OCH to place people in housing, we own apartment buildings to provide homes to former clients.

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Our shelter has grown from 12 beds in 1907 to 238 emergency shelter and live-in treatment beds. We also lay down mats on our chapel floor each night so that no one is turned away.

It’s frustrating to see clients who graduate from our programs end up back in our shelter because they have nowhere to go.

Shelters exist because of service gaps resulting from stagnant funding by governments. Shelters are a symptom, not the cause, of a wider problem over decades. Unless all governments build and maintain affordable and supportive housing with wrap-around programs, this will get worse.

For those seeking to close shelters: Where would the 7,000 people who live in these places go?

Another complaint is that shelters cost too much public money for too little benefit. In fact, city funds per person for shelters have not risen in years, with an increasing percentage of our funding coming from private donations.

A 2022 opinion poll found that 83 per cent of respondents said ending homelessness in Ottawa should be an urgent goal, and 90 per cent support or somewhat support new affordable housing. In 2019, respondents to another poll said that housing and homelessness should be the number one priority of city council.

Budgets are about priorities. We urge Council to reflect community priorities and increase funds for new affordable and supportive housing in its 2023 budget.

Peter Tilley is CEO of The Ottawa Mission.

Correction: The original version of this article contained incorrect information about the waitlist for Ottawa Community Housing. It has been updated.

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