Organization preparing for veteran homelessness to rise in Ottawa

In the last several years Veterans’ House Canada has been trying to get former Canadian Armed Forces members off the streets and into permanent housing.

However, the registered charity has noticed that more veterans continue to slip through the cracks in the nation’s capital.

“There are a lot of other additional societal issues that have now added more strain to the housing needs of a lot of veterans,” John Atoyebi, spokesperson for Veterans’ House Canada said. “We have seen an increase with tenants getting forced out.”

He noted that many veterans are on fixed incomes, so if they need to move there are fewer affordable options for them. Those who do spend more on housing then face the dilemma of paying for other essential items like food and medicine.

Some of the reasons veterans become homeless include an injury not allowing them to serve long term.

“From that rehabilitation process and falling through the cracks of care they then end up at a desk job somewhere and trying to figure out what the next steps are for their career and without the right family support that then leads them into a mental health crisis, identity issues, and then sadly into homelessness,” Atoyebi said.

Another difficult aspect for veterans could be the loss of camaraderie they found.

“After 20-plus years of going through routines, they are not able to have that routine. That family close by, everyone has dispersed, then there’s that identity crisis and that overreliance on different substances (to cope),” Atoyebi said.

Post-traumatic stress disorder from combat or witnessing incidents can also lead some veterans to rely on substances if they don’t get proper treatment.

“When you see all those different issues just slammed on an individual, it then forces them to be on the fringes of society trying to survive all by themselves,” he said.

How many veterans are homeless in Ottawa?

It is unclear exactly how many veterans are experiencing homelessness in Ottawa due to how difficult it is to pinpoint homelessness. However, Atoyebi did say that based on 2021 statistics about 4 per cent of those homeless in the nation’s capital are veterans.

This October, hundreds of volunteers will descend into the streets of Ottawa to conduct a Point-in-Time (PiT) count. This is the best effort to understand homelessness in cities across Canada.

The last time the survey was conducted in Ottawa was in 2021. It found that on one given night about 1,340 people were homeless and about 57 per cent of those were experiencing chronic homelessness — meaning they have been without a place to live for at least six months out of a year.

Experts say that although the PiT count is a valuable resource, it also does not show the entire picture because of things like hidden homelessness, which are people that could be couch surfing or staying in temporary living conditions.

Despite the difficulties of understanding just how many people are homeless, Atoyebi believes this year’s PiT count will result in higher numbers of unhoused veterans.

What Vetrans’ House Canada is doing

The charity focuses on creating permanent housing solutions for veterans across the country. After starting in 2021, the organization has partnered with 53 agencies to create permanent housing for veterans.

“Our current building in Ottawa just has 40 units, and at every given time we have a list of almost 20 to 30 on a wait list,” Atoyebi said.

In the last three years, the organization has been able to house over 60 veterans, including providing support like mental health counselling, addiction services and reconnecting veterans with family members. However, over its history, a few veterans have died before being able to receive support from the organization.

Support from institutions and governments is needed, Atoyebi said, for the charity to continue providing housing to veterans.

Veterans’ House Canada is partnering with the Bank of Montreal from Nov. 1 to 15 in a fundraising campaign at select branches across Ottawa and Gatineau.