January 17, 2025 Newsletter

A Message from Councillor King

Dear Residents:

Within the last month, Ottawa witnessed a devastating incident when a member of our homeless community lost their life during exposure on our streets. This heartbreaking event highlights the urgent crisis of homelessness in our region. The gravity of this situation has been further underscored by a recent report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) titled "Municipalities Under Pressure: The Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis".

The report’s findings are alarming: over 80,000 individuals are currently experiencing homelessness across Ontario, marking a sharp 22-per-cent rise since 2022. To address this growing crisis, AMO has proposed a comprehensive decade-long strategy that would require combined investment from municipal, provincial, and federal governments. While the tragic death in Ottawa serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of delayed action on homelessness, and while curtailed funding from senior levels of government have created many ongoing challenges, the City of Ottawa continues to pursue a detailed strategy for managing homelessness within its limited resources through its Integrated Transition to Housing Strategy, approved in 2023, and has prepared a plan to address cold weather this season.

The City’s plan has four main components, including:

1. New Transitional Housing Capacity: Over 400 new transitional housing beds will be added through programs at YMCA, St. Joseph, and Queen Street, primarily serving newcomers.
2. Increased Community Shelter Capacity: Plans are in place to relocate approximately 300 newcomers and asylum claimants from community shelters to new transitional housing, freeing up space for local unsheltered individuals.
3. Temporary Emergency Centers: Continued operation of facilities including:
   1. Bernard Grandmaître Arena (continuing through winter)
   2. Heron Road Community Centre (operating until spring 2025)
   3. Lanark facility (seeking lease extension beyond February 2025)
4. Ongoing Support for Unsheltered Residents: Enhanced services will continue to be offered through the City's Unsheltered Taskforce, including outreach services, winter supplies distribution, and housing-focused case management.

The City is also currently in discussions with the federal government about using vacant federal buildings for additional emergency overnight centres beyond February 2025.

But with Ottawa’s community shelters for single adults currently at full capacity and with more people expected to seek indoor shelter this winter, it will be imperative that the City of Ottawa continue to advocate for more resources.

While municipalities in Ontario have collectively stepped up their efforts, with spending on homelessness and housing programs reaching $2.1 billion in 2024, the provincial and federal governments' contributions have remained stagnant. Current provincial investments, including $50 million for affordable housing and $20 million in shelter funding, represent only three per cent and two per cent respectively of what municipalities spent in 2024.

The crisis could worsen dramatically without intervention. Even under stable economic conditions, Ontario's homeless population could double within a decade, potentially reaching 300,000 people during an economic downturn. This trajectory would put immense pressure on cities like Ottawa, which are already struggling to address the issue with limited resources.

To effectively address chronic homelessness, the report indicates a need for an additional $11 billion over 10 years to create more than 75,000 new affordable and supportive housing units throughout the province. An immediate investment of $2 billion over eight years is also required to address encampments and provide stable housing solutions throughout Ontario.

The situation is particularly critical given the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations. Nearly a quarter of chronically homeless Ontarians are children or youth, and refugee homelessness has increased by over 600 per cent in just four years. Indigenous people comprise almost 50 per cent of the chronic homeless population in some communities, underlining the need for reconciliation-focused solutions.

Without increased support from senior governments, municipalities like Ottawa will continue to bear an unsustainable financial burden while struggling to provide adequate solutions for our growing homeless populations. AMO’s report makes clear that addressing this crisis requires a coordinated approach across all levels of government, with significantly increased provincial and federal funding commitments.

As your City Councillor, I will continue to advocate with senior levels of government to obtain adequate resources to deal with the homelessness crisis which continues to impact our Ward and City.  As I told the Ottawa Citizen in December (ottawacitizen.com/news/people-forced-to-sleep-in-plastic-chairs-in-overcrowded-shelter-system), it is important that we invest in affordable housing initiatives to more adequately address the housing and homelessness crisis which the City is experiencing.