In a joint meeting today, the Planning and Housing Committee and the Community Services Committee approved a refreshed 10‑Year Housing and Homelessness Plan. The plan is Ottawa’s long-term roadmap to improve housing stability and support residents experiencing or at risk of homelessness. It sets a renewed vision of a community where everyone can access housing and the supports they need to thrive.
The plan responds to growing pressures in Ottawa’s housing and homelessness system by strengthening coordination across housing, health and community services while working alongside Indigenous partners. It expands housing loss prevention efforts and improves pathways from homelessness to stable housing. While centered on residents with low to moderate incomes, the plan also aligns with broader City initiatives to increase housing supply and expand affordable home ownership, helping create more stable and accessible housing across Ottawa.
The refreshed plan maintains its core priorities – ensuring everyone has a home; providing the supports people need; and strengthening collaboration across the system. It introduces updated goals and outcomes and stronger performance measures to guide decisions and track progress. It moves away from longer planning cycles, relying instead on annual workplans that will enable the City and its partners to respond more quickly to emerging needs and focus resources where they will have the greatest impact.
If approved by Council, staff will co‑develop the first annual workplan with the Housing and Homelessness Leadership Table later this year, starting with immediate priorities that include:
- Strengthening coordination between housing and health supports
- Advancing a strategy to end youth homelessness by 2030
- Expanding prevention and diversion programs to reduce shelter entry
- Redesigning coordinated outreach for more consistent support to people living unsheltered
- Supporting Indigenous‑led approaches and initiatives
- Modernizing the family shelter and transitional housing system to help families find housing faster
