The Ottawa Mission’s recent investment in an apartment building at 199 Holland Ave. has caused mixed reactions.
Holland Properties Association, a non-profit housing agency, purchased the apartment in late July with a large donation from the Ottawa Mission.
“Holland Properties owns the building and is the landlord. It is working with the mission to provide housing assistance to people who have come out of our programs, that are getting job skills, that are getting back on their feet and are ready to live independently in the community,” says Shirley Roy, media relations officer at the Ottawa Mission.
Some of these graduates will be from the mission’s drug programs, which is a concern for Eric Darwin, president of the Dalhousie Community Association. He supports the assisted housing initiative but says if proper procedures aren’t in place to monitor the progress of clients, they may pick up old habits.
“You need supportive housing where there are social workers and people who have handled people in similar circumstances and that can provide support,” Darwin says.
He is apprehensive about the negative effects that may arise within the area and bleed over into other communities like Centretown.
“When you think of a halfway house it can make you nervous because of your exposure to people who are criminals. It’s one thing to say they’ve been there 10 years and we’ve never had a problem, but how many people moved away because they were there, and how many people didn’t move in because it was there?” he asks.
Darwin says he has known people whose apartment buildings have been taken over by social agencies and the buildings have fallen into disrepair because of the new clientele. Looking at the bigger picture, he says the city has to be careful not to put too many social work institutions in one area because the middle-class will move away and it will become blighted.
Paul Soucie, executive director of Shepherds of Good Hope, says the agency has also dealt with worried residents when it moved supportive housing units into communities. He says communities should try to be supportive of those trying to rebuild their lives.
“People have to live somewhere and they have to have a chance,” he says.
Roy acknowledges that residents have a right to their concerns but says that Holland Properties is committed to being a good landlord. She says people have different reasons for turning to the Ottawa Mission and clients will be assessed to ensure they are suitable.
“When you live in a private apartment building with a private landlord, you don’t know who you’re living next to,” Roy says. “You don’t know what that person is dealing with. In a unit like this you know that the people receiving housing assistance want to be in the community”.
Pat O’Brien, president of the Hintonburg Community Association, says some community members had initial reservations like Darwin, but were reassured during a recent meeting with the Ottawa Mission and Holland Properties.