Leaders from housing, health care and social services met at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards on Friday, building on cross-sector collaboration to relieve pressure on hospital emergency rooms and meet rising demand for supportive and affordable housing.

The Health and Housing Symposium was co-hosted by Ottawa Community Housing, Ottawa Public Health, the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Salus, Bruyère Health, The Ottawa Hospital and The Royal.

CBC’s host Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco, who served as emcee, wished everyone a Happy Health and Housing Day in Ottawa, following a proclamation by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. The mayor recognized the importance of bringing together community leaders, service providers, policymakers and advocates to share knowledge and ideas, and to explore new, community-driven approaches and solutions.

“There’s momentum in our city, and much of it comes from the work of the people in this room,” Sutcliffe said, addressing roughly 250 attendees.

Cara Vaccarino, president and CEO of The Royal, called the group a coalition of “brave, bold, open-hearted, open-minded people,” adding: “If Ottawa can’t crack the code on health and homelessness, I don’t know who can.”

From left, Stéphane Giguère (Ottawa Community Housing), Coun. Theresa Kavanagh (chair of OCH), Mark MacAulay (Ottawa Salus), Cara Vaccarino (The Royal), Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Coun. Catherine Kitts (chair of Ottawa Board of Health), Dr. Trevor Arnason (Medical Officer of Health) and Melissa Donskov (Bruyère Health) on stage for the proclamation of Health and Housing Day in Ottawa. Photo by Caroline Phillips  

About 450 people are currently on Ottawa’s supportive housing waitlist, with those at the bottom facing waits of 10 years. Recently, council unanimously passed a motion, introduced by the mayor, to double the rate of supportive housing construction.

Sutcliffe said supportive housing shifts spending from emergency response to prevention and stability.

“It keeps people housed by identifying issues early,” he said. “It improves access to care, reduces ambulance trips, emergency visits and hospital stays, and strengthens safety and well-being in housing communities.”

He was joined by Ottawa Centre NDP MPP Catherine McKenney and councillors Marty Carr, Catherine Kitts, Tim Tierney, Ariel Troster and Theresa Kavanagh, board chair of Ottawa Community Housing — the city’s largest community and affordable housing provider.

“I think we can all agree housing is a key social determinant of health,” Kavanagh said. “You can’t have health if you don’t have a roof over your head.”

She said that of Ottawa Community Housing’s 33,000 tenants, about 3,900 account for a disproportionate share of hospital and emergency service use, with roughly four in 10 visits linked to mental health, substance use or behavioural issues.

“This level of reliance is increasingly unsustainable for both the health system and housing providers,” she said. “We started as landlords, but we are becoming much more than that.”

From left, United Way East Ontario president and CEO Rachael Wilson, Coun. Theresa Kavanagh, chair of Ottawa Community Housing, and NDP MPP Catherine McKenney (Ottawa Centre) at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco from CBC News hosted the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Dr. Claire Kendall with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and Clara Freire, general manager of Community and Social Services at the City of Ottawa, at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Danya Vered, vice president at StrategyCorp, and Sara Cooper, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa, at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Stéphane Giguère, CEO of Ottawa Community Housing, said the work is constant, but that his teams remain dedicated to helping people. “We’re living in the trenches alongside our partners, where we all see firsthand that when the right supports aren’t in place, the pressure shows up everywhere — health care, emergency services, housing teams and beyond.”

OCH has been expanding on-site health and support services including through an Aging in Place program, operated by Ottawa West Community Support that serves 19 OCH seniors communities, and through newer partnerships with community health centres, including pilot projects known as Health Collabs. This initiative brings nurse practitioner visits, personal care and mental health support directly in communities where people need them.

Sustained progress, however, will require investment from private, philanthropic, federal and provincial partners, the speakers said.

OCH received a boost from the RBC Foundation in the form of a $100,000 investment over two years, announced at the symposium by RBC regional president Devinder Gill. The funds will help strengthen on-site support for high-needs tenants living in OCH communities as part of the organization’s complex care housing strategy. The funding will help residents stay housed while improving access to care.

From left, Stéphane Giguère (Ottawa Community Housing), Coun. Catherine Kitts (chair of Ottawa Board of Health) Coun. Theresa Kavanagh (chair of OCH), Traci Spour-Lafrance (executive director of OCH Foundation), Devinder Gill (regional president of RBC), Melissa Reeves (chair of OCH Foundation Board) and Kale Brown (director of Housing and Homelessness Services for the City of Ottawa) at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The audience also heard about the BumbleBee Initiative, developed by OCH, Options Housing, Ottawa Salus and Gignul Non-Profit Housing Corporation. It aims to scale supportive housing more efficiently and was described by the mayor as “a great example” of what collaboration can achieve. “Catching people before they fall through the cracks is a big part of the work ahead of us,” said Sutcliffe, pointing to city-wide efforts to end youth homelessness by 2030.

Mark MacAulay, president and CEO of Ottawa Salus, said Ottawa’s strength is collaboration. “Real partnerships are where egos are set aside and we figure out how to do this together.” Ottawa Salus provides housing and support services to individuals living with serious mental illness and substance use challenges.

Another example of collaboration is the $400-million investment by the federal government and the City of Ottawa to build 3,000 new homes, including a significant number of affordable and supportive units. Mercedeh Madani spoke about the need for flexible financing tools and modern construction methods to accelerate housing development, as well as the importance of leveraging public investment through cross-sector partnerships.

Mercedeh Madani, director of partnerships for Ontario at Build Canada Homes, reminded the audience that nearly 85,000 people in Ontario experienced homelessness last year, and that more individuals are remaining homeless for longer periods. Photo by Caroline Phillips

The audience also heard about the role Bruyère Health plays in easing hospital burdens by moving patients out of acute beds faster and into its facilities. Melissa Donskov oversees Bruyère Health’s long-term care homes and seniors’ village, which includes 227 independent and assisted-living apartments and is more than 97 per cent occupied.

The campus allows seniors — many in their 90s and even 100s — to age in place with supports evolving from from day programs to long-term care.

She focused on their enhanced assisted-living program for hospital patients waiting for long-term care beds. It costs the system about $93 a day, compared to the much higher cost of keeping patients in hospital when they no longer need acute care but cannot yet be safely discharged. “There’s an opportunity to better connect housing and health to improve quality of life and reduce system strain.”

After the symposium, event lead Danielle McGee said the day did more than share ideas; it drew attention to the real work that’s already happening. “With senior decision-makers from across the sectors in the room, it’s clear Ottawa has strong leaders stepping up,” said McGee, who’s also senior advisor at OCH for government and stakeholder relations.

From left, Andrea MacLean, director of communications at The Royal, Jesse Cressman-Dickinson (director of communication and community engagement at Bruyère Health), symposium event lead Danielle McGee (senior advisor of government and stakeholder relations at Ottawa Community Housing), and Jennifer Cross (director of regional development at Chandos Construction) at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Suzanne Obiorah, executive director of the Somerset West Community Health Centre, and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in conversation at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Darryl Hood, principal at CSV Architects, Ottawa Salus CEO Mark MacAulay and Cliff Youdale, chief development officer at Ottawa Community Housing, at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Cara Vaccarino (president and CEO of The Royal), Stéphane Giguère (CEO of Ottawa Community Housing), Melissa Donskov (vice president of residential and community programs for Bruyère Health) during a panel discussion at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Cara Vaccarino (president and CEO of The Royal), Peggy Taillon (vice president of strategy, engagement and development at Bruyère Health) and Dr. Claire Kendall with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Kaite Burkholder Harris, executive director at the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa, as well as co-chair of the Housing and Homelessness Leadership Table, participated in the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Algonquin College manager of philanthropy Ann Watt and Erin Stitt-Cavanagh, dean of its school of health studies and board member with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, in conversation with Dr. Rob Beanlands, president and CEO of the Heart Institute, at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Christian Robillard (the new manager of business development at the Ottawa Board of Trade), Donna Casey (strategic program and project officer at Ottawa Public Health) and David Coletto (founder, chair and CEO of Abacus Data) at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

City councillors Tim Tierney and Marty Carr in the audience at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

From left, Stéphane Giguère, CEO of Ottawa Community Housing (OCH), OCH Foundation executive director Traci Spour-Lafrance, RBC regional president Devinder Gill and Melissa Reeves, board chair of OCH Foundation and COO at Linebox Studio, at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Mark MacAulay, president and CEO of Ottawa Salus — a local nonprofit that provides housing and support services to individuals living with serious mental illness and substance use challenges — participated in a panel discussion at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Coun. Ariel Troster, Ottawa Inner City Health CEO Rob Boyd and Darren Graham, director of community services at YSB (Youth Services Bureau) at the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

Some 250 leaders from housing, health care, social services, academic, government and the private sector attended the Health and Housing Symposium at Invest Ottawa’s Bayview Yards. Photo by Caroline Phillips

This article is made possible through sponsorship from Star Motors, WCPD, Syntax Strategic, RBC, Marilyn Wilson Dream Properties, ExecHealth, Altis Recruitment, Bell Canada, First Avenue Investment Counsel, Welch LLP, and Brazeau Seller Law.
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