DEPUTATION TO COMMUNITY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE
My name is Emilie Hayes, the interim Executive Director of the Alliance to End
Homelessness Ottawa. The Alliance is a member-driven coalition of local
organizations and individuals collaborating and advocating to prevent and end
homelessness in Ottawa.
We know that livable cities are the foundation for a strong resilient
community, sustainable economy and a place where all people can thrive.
Ottawa is experiencing an affordable housing and homelessness crisis:
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The total number of people using an overnight emergency shelter in Ottawa
increased 6.5% in 2018 to a record high of almost 8000 unique individuals.
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Although Housing First programs have helped to house 882 individuals since
April 2015, and 225 have graduated off the program, the number of people
experiencing chronic homelessness remains almost unchanged and has become
significantly worse for families. There has been a steady upward increase
in family homelessness over the past five years. In 2018, there were over
1000 families, comprising of over 3600 individual family members who
experienced homelessness, representing a 10.6% increase from 2017.
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Homelessness for single men has increased by 1.4% and for women by 5.5%
and at a greater rate than the overall population increase in Ottawa.
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There were over 12,000 applicants on the centralized waiting list for
social housing in 2018, a 14.8% increase and an all-time high.
If we are serious about meeting our commitment to bringing an end to
chronic homelessness, we cannot simply manage the problem. While we are
encouraged to see a $15M investment in affordable housing once again in the
draft 2020 budget, the troubling increase in homelessness in our community
signals that more needs to be done.
The Alliance encourages the City to take a strong, action-oriented approach to
dealing with housing and homelessness in the 2020 City budget by allocating
the resources necessary to effectively meet the targets assigned to the next
five years of our 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan and increasing
investments in a prevention-based approach to ending homelessness.
We also acknowledge the City’s expansion of the number of housing allowances
and rent supplements. We urge the City to continue with these critical
investments, and to also explore additional strategies to address the housing
crisis such as the purchase of existing affordable housing stock,
redevelopment of social housing and other innovative housing solutions.
However, the Alliance recognizes that the City cannot solve the housing and
homelessness crisis alone. We call on the City to vigorously pursue current
opportunities for federal and provincial funding for new development using the
non-profit and private sectors to build a range of mixed-income and mixed-use
affordable rental housing. We also urge the City to work with the federal and
provincial governments to ensure non-profit and co-operative housing providers
can maintain and repair the current affordable housing stock when federal
Operating Agreements expire.
Housing is more than just a roof over one’s head. Appropriate and affordable
housing makes our city and community a welcoming place to live, work and start
a business. In a city, such as Ottawa, one of the wealthiest cities in Canada,
there is no need for homelessness and housing insecurity to be continuing and
growing at the current rates. Investments are critical to addressing the
ongoing needs.
Affordable housing is an important investment in our city, in our communities,
and in the people of Ottawa – both economically and socially. We can
make a difference in our city to create a more prosperous, inclusive Ottawa –
where everyone has an appropriate and affordable home.
We thank members of the Community and Protective Services Committee for
hearing our comments on the draft 2020 Budget and look forward to working
together to prevent and end homelessness in Ottawa.
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