Ottawa’s shelters turned away about 100 Inuit women last year and some 300 Indigenous people in all because of capacity limitations.
And the actual number of unhoused Indigenous people is likely more, the Point-in-Time (PiT) counts from the federal government, which reports on homelessness in different cities, says.
The homeless crisis for Inuit is particularly pointed as Ottawa is home to the largest Inuit population outside of Nunavut.
For the past three years, Jennifer San has been working to change the situation for unhoused and vulnerable Indigenous people.
“I aim to help people by listening. People know what they need and are willing to tell you if you just listen,” said San, the Indigenous Women’s Safety Table Coordinator at the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition (OAC). The OAC’s own analysis of the 2024 PiT counts concludes that the total number of homeless Indigenous people in Ottawa is actually 479 individuals.
“At the OAC, we work from the ground up. All decisions and projects come from the voices of the community members; we just help amplify them.”
At present, the OAC is working to address the needs of the Inuit community with what Stephanie Mikki Adams, co-chair of the OAC, says will be the first Inuit Violence Against Women (VAW) shelter south of Nunavut.
The 30-bed shelter is expected to combine culturally supportive services with a focus on healing and wellbeing. The ultimate goal is akin to transitional housing: providing a safe and stable community for unhoused Inuit women and children escaping violence.
City council has approved the project in the Hunt Club neighbourhood of Gloucester-Southgate Ward with construction starting in late 2025 and the shelter opening in 2027.
This shelter is the first step of many. We will continue pushing for change that makes Indigenous women and girls feel safe, seen and supported in Ottawa.
Mary Daoust, co-chair, Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition
“This shelter is the first step of many. We will continue pushing for change that makes Indigenous women and girls feel safe, seen and supported in Ottawa,” OAC Co-Chair Mary Daoust said on Facebook,
“I was homeless when I was 16 because I chose to have a baby,” said Adysan Vincent, a local Indigenous business owner. She says that Ottawa shelters lack capacity and resources, especially for young mothers and children in the community.
“I hope to see more people having a safe place to go,” said Vincent, “I find the homelessness here in Ottawa is almost overlooked, and people disregard the amount of people out on the streets.”
Vincent believes one of the most important things transitional housing and shelters can do is give occupants access to different services to help them rebuild their livelihoods.
She hopes that free therapy, childcare and employment resources are some of the services that the shelter will provide for Inuit women.
“If you’re escaping violence and dealing with PTSD, those things carry with you for your whole life. It’s not just a ‘right now’ thing, it’s something that will affect you on a day-to-day basis,” Vincent says.
Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Jessica Bradley told CBC earlier this year that the neighbourhood is a great place for families and she hopes the women who use the shelter will be welcomed into the community when the time comes.
“This space is really going to be a place of hope and recovery and safety,” she said.
For her part, Jennifer San hopes that the shelter initiative leads to more opportunities for the urban Indigenous community in Ottawa.
