Stop Managing Homelessness. Start Solving It.
The City doesn't have the money to go it alone. But we can create the blueprint that higher levels of government can get behind.
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Homelessness isn’t that difficult to understand. People are homeless primarily because they can’t afford housing.
Yes, some people struggle with mental health or addiction. But helping them off the street starts with a stable home, coupled with the supports they need to succeed.
How we got here
In the 1990s, the federal government stopped building social housing. Provinces and cities weren’t given the resources to fill the gap.
As a result, little social housing was built in Canada. This went on for nearly three decades until the federal government launched the National Housing Strategy in 2017.
Thirty years of not building social housing is a big reason for the surge in homelessness in recent years.
Starts with the city
No one feels the consequences of homelessness more than cities.
A city like Ottawa sees it every day, in shelters, parks, emergency rooms and on our streets.
The City needs to lead with a clear plan, real resources of their own and a readiness to lobby federal and provincial governments to get behind that plan.
City taxpayers can’t do this alone. But with support from other levels of government, we can make real progress.
Three groups. Three solutions.
In October 2024, Ottawa counted roughly 3,000 people experiencing homelessness. They fall into three broad groups, with each requiring a different response. The first and second groups included many indigenous people. About 1 in 6 homeless people in Ottawa are indigenous.
1. Chronically homeless (49%)
About 1,500 people were chronically homeless those living on the street or in shelters for six months or longer, and often dealing with complex challenges.
We have a proven solution in Housing First. This means giving people stable housing first, and then providing the wraparound supports they need to be successful, including health care, addiction treatment, counselling and employment services.
It works. And it’s cheaper. Solving homelessness might cost about $3,000 per month per person, for a place to live and the required supports. Managing homelessness likely costs about double that in costs for shelter beds, emergency response, health care and the legal system.
City taxpayers cannot fund a Housing First approach alone. The City can lead but we would need federal and provincial resources to help build the missing housing and provide the required supports.
2. Families Priced Out (10%)
Roughly 300 people experiencing homelessness were part of families who simply can’t afford rent.
Many more families are a paycheque away from the same.
For these households, the solution is to help them pay rent.
Portable housing allowances, $500 to $1,000 per month, can keep families housed or help them exit homelessness quickly.
These programs already exist. They just need to be expanded.
3. Asylum Seekers (42%)
About 1,200 people experiencing homelessness in Ottawa were asylum seekers.
Community organizations have already built a model that works for as little as $1,000 per month per person. This includes communal housing throughout the city, as well as legal, health and employment support services.
Groups like Matthew House, Carty House, and Stepstone House have been doing this work efficiently and compassionately for years.
The federal government is taking measures to slow down the flow of asylum seekers and prevent abuses of the system. They have also provided emergency funding to help cities manage the surge in refugee claimants in recent years.
A Made-in-Ottawa Plan
To address homelessness in Ottawa, the City needs to develop a clear and workable plan for each of these three groups, and get other levels of government behind our plan.
We can keep managing homelessness. But it costs more and we get worse outcomes.
Or we can set out to solve it. The big question is whether we will choose to.