Capital Current introduces people who have had an impact on the city.
Who is she?
Catharine Vandelinde is approaching her ninth year as the executive director at Options Housing, an Ottawa organization that focuses on supportive housing as a solution to homelessness in the city.
“There is no one area of expertise” needed for her job, Vandelinde told Capital Current. “You have to have touched everything, from human resources to finance to strategy to governance to frontline response.”
What’s her background?
Vandelinde studied psychology at Carleton University, completing a BA in 1997. She went on to obtain a certificate in harm reduction at York University.
She has had an extensive career in mental health and community services. From 2005 to 2009 she worked for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and from 2009 to 2010 she worked as the program director for harm reduction at the Somerset West Community Health Centre.
What is she known for in Ottawa?
Options Housing has a rich history in the city. It opened its first supportive housing unit in the ByWard Market in 1989.
Options now has 128 people in four units downtown. Supportive housing units are focused not just on being affordable but also provide support for tenants including meals, assistance in conducting financial affairs and help with mental health.
The organization also provides more than 1,000 tenants in Ottawa Community Housing with supports including crisis intervention and counselling.
The mission of Options Housing is to provide permanent solutions to homelessness in Ottawa through affordable and supportive housing. Vandalinde takes this mission to heart.
What do people say about her?
Erick Koinski Da Silva, an employee of Options Housing, says that he and many of his coworkers weren’t even aware that Vandelinde was the executive director, as she was down to earth and made an effort to build relationships with tenants and employees.
“She’s approachable, empathetic and humble. Her style of leadership is very democratic in how anyone, no matter who, can approach her,” Koinski Da Silva said.
Vandelinde also worked as the chair of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa, where in the 2024-2025 annual report the Alliance’s executive director Kaite Burkholder Harris praised her leadership.
“I am always grateful for Catharine’s wise, thoughtful, and kind approach to leadership,” Burkholder Harris wrote in the report, adding that she believes Vandelinde “works from genuine conviction that we can and will end homelessness.”
What’s something people don’t know about her?
Vandelinde also has served as a diversity consultant for the City of Ottawa and as program manager for prevention and promotion initiatives for the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
