There were 664 families living in the City of Ottawa’s family shelter system this winter, including one family that has been in the system for more than three years. In February, the city purchased a former hotel at 377 O’Connor Street for $45 million to turn it into transitional housing. The building has 128 apartment suites. Coun. Marty Carr asked staff for information on the number of families currently in the city’s family shelter system, along with the average length of stay. In response to the inquiry for the June 23 community services committee meeting, Community and Social Services general manager Clara Freire said there were 664 families (2,212 individuals) being served in the city’s Family Transitional Housing System as of March 1. “This represents a 76 per cent increase since January 2023, when 377 families were being served,” Freire said. The average length of stay for a family as 327 days as of April 1, up from an average length of stay of 139 days in April 2024. Freire said outflow from the system has decreased, with 41 per cent fewer households moving into housing between 2024 and 2025. In 2025, 106 families secured a rent-geared-to-income unit and exited the family shelter system, while 59 families moved into private market housing and 80 families accepted another housing benefit. “Private market housing constraints, including low vacancy rates and high rents, inflation and increasing costs of living, as well as low social assistance rates make moving to long-term housing difficult for families,” Freire said. The memo said there are “persistent barriers to housing supports,” including reduced availability of housing benefits stemming from reductions in funding from upper levels of government and “limited tools to make new development of affordable housing deeply affordable.” As of March 1, the longest stay for a family in the Family Transitional Housing System was 1,271 days. “This family is specifically awaiting an offer for rent-geared-to-income housing, which have extended wait times,” Freire said. “Under the approved ‘Pathways to Housing: Ottawa’s Family Homelessness Strategy,’ families being served, including this one will be required to accept the first offer of appropriate, long-term housing which may include alternative options such as a portable housing benefit.” Shelter costs to the City of Ottawa The annual costs to the City of Ottawa for people staying in shelters range from $2,200 per month for an individual to $5,800 per month for a single parent with one to three children. A separate inquiry from Carr asked staff about the average cost to the City of Ottawa for people staying in the shelter program. The City of Ottawa provides funding and oversees 19 emergency shelter and transitional housing programs, which includes 40 scattered homes and the Family Shelter Program. Freire says the programs represent 2,693 permanent beds and 239 overflow mats. The response to the inquiry from Freire says the average cost to the city, based on 2025 operating costs, is: “The costs cited above only reflect the funding administered by the city. Shelter system operations are funded through a combination of municipal, provincial, and federal funding, with community service providers also contributing fundraising and other non-city resources,” Freire said. “Continued funding from other levels of government is required to sustain current service levels and respond to changes in demand.
