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From the City of Ottawa
View memo here. Text version is also below.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this memo is to provide an update to members of Council on the status of the newcomer reception system and the Integrated Transition to Housing Strategy (ITHS).
BACKGROUND
In July 2023, Council approved the Integrated Transition to Housing Strategy (ITHS) (ACS2023- CSS-GEN-006). The ITHS is comprised of short-, medium- and long-term initiatives to support single adult shelter clients to transition to permanent housing. It also addresses immediate pressures in the shelter system and aims to end the operation of Physical Distancing-Emergency Overflow Centres (PD-EOCs) in City-owned recreational facilities.
The system will provide tailored supports for single asylum seekers and migrants to ensure they can successfully integrate into the community. The newcomer reception system will support multidisciplinary and multi-agency interventions to divert newcomers from shelters and ensure successful transitions to long-term settlement, thereby alleviating pressure on the existing shelter system.
Key components of the newcomer reception system included the establishment of new transitional housing facilities for newcomers, the purchase of up to 20 scattered homes throughout the community to be used as transitional housing, and the development of up to two newcomer reception centres with onsite settlement services, pending funding and as required.
Since the inception of the ITHS, the City and its partners have made significant progress in supporting single adults experiencing homelessness, including:
132 new supportive housing units opened between April 2023 and the end of 2024, with another 112 under construction and 134 units in predevelopment.
621 PD-EOC clients were housed between June 2023 and the end of 2024. This includes 157 PD-EOC clients that were housed through the Enhanced Housing Allowance Benefit (EHAB) pilot. To date, all recipients of the benefit remain successfully housed and continue to integrate into their communities.
• 337 single adults with a history of chronic homelessness were housed system wide between July 2023 and the end of 2024 through supportive, community, transitional and private market housing.
• Over 675 new permanent shelter or transitional housing beds for single adults, including newcomers, will have been added between 2023 and spring 2025. This includes the addition of the St. Joseph Transitional Housing Program, the Queen Street Transitional Housing Program, the pivoting of the YMCA Transitional Housing Program to serve single newcomer adults, the relocation and increased capacity of Cornerstone Emergency Shelter for Women, and increased capacity through newcomer scattered homes operated by newcomer settlement agencies.
Initiatives within the ITHS continue to drive systemic change with a strong focus on transitions to permanent housing. They include a shift from emergency shelter to transitional housing through the addition of new facilities. The ITHS also broadens the spectrum of options available to clients, offering supports specific to their unique service needs. The initiatives being implemented are cost effective and sustainable to leverage the maximum funding amounts available through current federal funding, and strategically position the City to respond with owned assets, resulting in lower operating costs over the long term.
Newcomer demand trending down
Beginning in June 2023, Ottawa experienced a significant and unprecedented increase in the number of asylum claimants accessing shelters, with the number of single adult asylum claimants being served in the shelter system peaking at over 1,000 people.
Due to federal immigration policy changes introduced in the fall of 2024, as well as success in increasing the capacity in newcomer specific transitional housing, the number of asylum claimants being served in community shelters and overflow beds has decreased. Over the last six months, Ottawa has experienced sustained reductions in the number of newcomers accessing the shelter system, and there are now approximately 820 newcomers' system wide.
Similar trends in demand are occurring across the province. Staff will continue to monitor system trends, including the number of asylum claimants being served system wide.
ANALYSIS
As a result of decreasing demand and new opportunities outlined in this memo, staff are adjusting the infrastructure requirements in the newcomer reception proposal that is being negotiated with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Since the last update on the strategy, there have been new opportunities for community space that can support the system. Recently, the YMCA announced that it is no longer pursuing the sale of its building at 180 Argyle Avenue, which is currently being used as transitional housing for newcomers. Following this announcement, the City will be working with the YMCA to convert two additional unused floors for additional newcomer reception space. The federal government also confirmed that the prospective purchaser of 250 Lanark Avenue will not be proceeding with the sale. As a result, this will allow staff to pursue opportunities to extend the interim use of the space.
As staff worked to solidify construction timelines for a prefabricated structure to house the newcomer reception centre, the implementation timeline to complete the work became longer than anticipated, in part due to the requirement to undertake a competitive procurement process, as well as site-servicing requirements. As such, the revised timeline for the construction of these structures facilitates staff’s ability to pursue other opportunities to meet the need within a similar timeline.
These new opportunities, paired with demand trending downwards, will eliminate the need to develop the newcomer reception centres at 1645 Woodroffe Avenue and 40 Hearst Way. As such the procurement process and the plans to build at these locations will not proceed. The pre development work completed to date will be kept and staff will continue to monitor trends in demand.
Overflow capacity and needs
An overflow site(s) may be required through winter 2025-2026, as it will not be possible to move all newcomer clients out of community shelters and PD-EOCs until the scattered unit initiative and/or alternate options are fully realized. As noted above, the City is in negotiations with the federal government for the ongoing use of 250 Lanark Avenue, and we continue to work to explore additional options to respond to this need. Should current demand trends change, staff may need to stay in and/or activate other community centres as part of an emergency response.
NEXT STEPS
Although staff are shifting the infrastructure requirements that will be used to implement the newcomer reception system, there are no changes to our approach in creating that system. Staff and partners will continue to work on the development of the newcomer reception system service delivery model as well as review existing facilities and amend the proposed reception system to work with available assets.
Other elements of the newcomer reception system, including the operationalization of 1754 St. Joseph Boulevard and the acquisition of scattered units, are proceeding. The City and its partners have taken a multipronged approach to responding and have been simultaneously working to operationalize multiple sites. Between now and spring 2025, a total of 290 new permanent beds will be added between the St. Joseph Boulevard and Queen Street Transitional Housing Programs. This is in addition to the additional capacity recently added at the YMCA transitional housing program, and through the expansion of scattered newcomer reception homes.
In addition to the work being done to support single newcomers, staff continue to monitor demands within the family system. The City continues to pursue opportunities for additional permanent capacity for families that will reduce reliance on overflow hotels, motels and post secondary residences. Staff continue to engage with other levels of government on funding opportunities, buildings and/or vacant land that could support the strategy.
Staff will continue to build upon the successes with the newcomer reception centre model utilizing this revised approach to the infrastructure components.
The ITHS will continue to be updated as new opportunities or needs arise. An update for the public will be posted on Engage Ottawa