Briefing

Unsheltered Ottawa

The 2025 Point-in-Time count found 561 people in unsheltered locations in Ottawa — tents, doorways, pathways — of 4,370 counted that night (2,570 in shelter, 1,239 in transitional). In 2025 the city reported 545 encampments; 462 were resolved without a formal dismantle. 109 unsheltered people were housed that year.

Policy: outreach first (Unsheltered Task Force, Street Outreach, 3-1-1). Enforcement is described as last resort. Practice: a notice is posted, then By-law, Public Works, and sometimes police dismantle. Belongings are not stored as a housing file. ID is not inventoried.

Winter: 24/7 outreach, warming/respite, overflow at Bernard Grandmaître Arena and Heron Road Community Centre. Extreme-cold protocol when Environment Canada issues a −35°C windchill warning. Unsheltered nights are clinical events — hypothermia, trench foot, respiratory infection — not a lifestyle.

Sheltered — the warehouse

Call 3-1-1 (option 2 after hours) for referral. Key sites: Shepherds of Good Hope (256 King Edward), The Ottawa Mission (35 Waller), Salvation Army Booth Centre (171 George), Cornerstone (women and gender-diverse), YSB (147 Besserer, youth). Designed as short stays; people remain for years. ~4,100 people in the system on a July 2026 night. 8,947 unique users in 2025; 1,037 housed from shelter that year.

Families: 664 families (1,220 children) in the Family Transitional Housing System as of March 2026. Average stay 327 days. Nearly $30 million spent on hotels in 2025. City cost per single shelter bed roughly $2,200/month; family ~$5,800.

Mental health

AccessMHA is the centralized intake. The Royal Ottawa has limited acute beds; boarding in Civic ER is common. CMHA Ottawa and community health centres provide case management when capacity exists. Serious mental illness and concurrent disorders are over-represented among people who cycle through shelter and street.

Addiction

Supervised consumption in Ottawa ended 12 June 2026. Oasis (Somerset West CHC) still offers supplies and opioid agonist treatment. RAAM clinics (including at The Royal) run weekdays. Using outdoors or in laneways became the default indoor option that closed. Overdose risk is highest when people are unsheltered and isolated.

Disability

ODSP max $1,436 (basic $825 + shelter $611). Canada Disability Benefit adds up to $204.20. Asking one-bedroom ~$1,900. Stairs, congregate bathrooms, and distance to clinics exclude many people with mobility or sensory disabilities from standard shelters. AODA compliance is uneven.

Wait lists & access

Coordinated Access / By-Name / HIFIS — homelessness system. Shelter intake or outreach lists you. Housing First matched 388 households in 2025 (Indigenous HF 193).

Social Housing Registry — 16,347 households. Mail or drop-off at 240 Catherine. No email. Four-plus week intake lag. 2025 housed 1,017 (6.22%). Average chronological wait 5–8 years.

2,468 households already held local homelessness priority (530 with dependents, 1,832 without, 106 seniors).

2026 local rule: couch / family stays do not count as homelessness for wait-list priority. Hidden homelessness is punished by being invisible.

New supply 2025: 31 affordable completed, 48 supportive completed. ~450 waiting on supportive. ~22,500 community units; 51 nonprofit providers.

COHB 2025–26: ~$2.085M / ~205 households — invitation-only, finite.

Income (July 2026)

OW single $733 ($343 basic + $390 shelter). Frozen since 2018. Prices up ~25%.

ODSP single max $1,436. Asking 1-bed ~$1,900– $1,999. Studio ~$1,575. 2-bed ~$2,400.

People without a physical home do not receive the shelter line. That is legislated destitution.

Market basket measure (poverty) for a single adult in Ottawa is roughly $2,150/month.

Simulator

Destitution ledger

FAQ