Ottawa focusing on Indigenous-specific housing strategy as homelessness rises

With the goal of tackling rising homelessness in the nation’s capital, Ottawa’s Planning and Housing Committee reviewed a blueprint to increase housing for Indigenous Peoples.

The committee received a presentation Oct. 23 from Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition (OAC) on an Indigenous-specific housing strategy, which is part of the city’s 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan.

In the 2021 Point-in-Time Count, 32 per cent of people experiencing homelessness identified as Indigenous, despite the fact they make up four per cent of the Ottawa population. The true number is likely much higher, experts note.

Indigenous Peoples face specific challenges when it comes to finding safe and affordable housing with their experiences influenced by the interconnectivity of colonization, residential school abuse, intergenerational trauma, and structural policy and practices, the report reads.

Research conducted by the OAC found that Indigenous community members in Ottawa experience a strong connection between increased mental health issues and housing needs. Ninety-two per cent of the community members that indicated a need for permanent housing also identified a need for other supports: mental health support (39 per cent) support around addictions/substance use (36 per cent), or support for ongoing medical conditions (21 per cent), among other needs.

In developing the strategy, the organization identified key projects that would benefit Indigenous community members experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity in Ottawa. The projects include transitional housing for Inuit women and their children, a family healing centre, an aging-out initiative to support youth aging out of Children’s Aid Society care, and an Indigenous hub.

In May, Council approved the transfer of city-owned lands east of Greenboro, to the OAC, to move forward with building transitional housing for Inuit women and children. Funded through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada, the project would make Ottawa the first city outside of Inuit Nunangat to offer such housing for Inuit women.

“This project is an important step in responding to the growth of the Inuit population in Ottawa and the demand for services from the Inuit community, one quarter of which are women,” the staff report presented to committee said.

It noted that the current Indigenous women’s shelter turns away 300 women a year, showcasing the need for further housing.

In Sept. 2022, the city and the OAC entered into an agreement for the allocation of $80,000 in federal Reaching Home funding for the development of an urban Indigenous Housing and Homelessness Strategy.

Since then, Housing and Homelessness Services staff have been accompanying the OAC and its partners as they develop the plan.

One of the projects is set to return to council for rezoning in early 2025.