Ontario Providing More Supportive Housing in Ottawa

The Ontario government is providing over $8.3 million through the Social Services Relief Fund to help create 57 supportive housing units in Ottawa.

The funding was announced by Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Housing, alongside Lisa MacLeod, MPP for Nepean, Stéphane Sarrazin, MPP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell and Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton.

“Our government’s Social Services Relief Fund is providing immediate housing and homelessness relief in Ottawa and communities across Ontario,” said Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Housing. “Supporting innovative solutions like these new housing units in Ottawa is critical as we work to keep our most vulnerable safe and housed.”

The community and supportive housing organization Shepherds of Good Hope is converting an existing private residential service home at 1095 Merivale Road to accommodate single occupancy. The project will provide longer-term housing-based solutions for individuals who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

Residents will be close to public transportation, schools, parks, grocery stores, pharmacies, and employment opportunities.

Today’s announcement is part of the province’s Social Services Relief Fund, which provided over $1.2 billion of support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to help municipal service managers and Indigenous program administrators create longer-term housing solutions and help vulnerable people in Ontario, including those who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

The Ontario government is also investing an additional $202 million each year in homelessness prevention programs – the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program – bringing Ontario’s total yearly investment to close to $700 million.

“As a proud supporter of Shepherds of Good Hope for many years, I am thrilled to see this project come to fruition. As Ottawa works to alleviate the homelessness crisis, I will always add my voice to important investments like today’s”. – Lisa MacLeod, MPP for Nepean

“I am really pleased to see Shepherds of Good Hope putting our government’s investment to good use by creating 57 supportive housing units that will house our most vulnerable. These new units will not only help combat homelessness in Ottawa but all of the surrounding communities, including across Glengarry-Prescott-Russell as well.” – Stéphane Sarrazin, MPP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell

“Homelessness in Ottawa is not just a downtown problem. Ottawa is a geographically vast city with pockets of suburbs, communities and villages, none of which are immune to the problem of homelessness. Our government made a major commitment to homelessness relief in 2023, and this $8.3 million investment to provide 57 supportive housing units in Ottawa through the Social Services Relief Fund will benefit people in need throughout the city, including rural Ottawa which includes my riding of Carleton.” – Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton

“Thanks to this new supportive housing, our partners at Shepherds of Good Hope now have more residents living in supportive housing than shelter beds. I would like to extend my gratitude to Shepherds of Good Hope and their partners for their consistent hard work and commitment to address homelessness in a compassionate and sustainable manner. By prioritizing supportive housing, which focuses on providing stable, long-term solutions for individuals experiencing homelessness, we reduce our reliance on temporary solutions to homelessness. With facilities like this one, we can build a more equitable society, where no one is left behind.” – Mark Sutcliffe, City of Ottawa Mayor

“As Shepherds of Good Hope celebrates our 40th anniversary supporting those experiencing homelessness in Ottawa, we are grateful for the collaboration with our committed partners in government as we open our newest supportive housing residence. Soon fifty-seven people exiting homelessness will have a safe, supportive place to call home. This is a positive milestone for Shepherds of Good Hope, for the first time in our history we will have more people in supportive housing than staying in our shelter. This is another major step toward ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa.” – Deirdre Freiheit, President and CEO Shepherds of Good Hope and Shepherds of Good Hope Foundation

“Ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa is an achievable goal. Shepherds of Good Hope is proud to be part of the solution and is grateful for the commitment and contributions from government. We are also grateful for our employees, volunteers, partners, and the Ottawa community who contribute their time, expertise, and resources supporting our vision of homes for all, community for all, hope for all.” – Dave Donaldson, Board Chair, Shepherds of Good Hope

Learn more at:https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1003164/ontario-providing-more-supportive-housing-in-ottawa