Homeless people with most acute needs overlooked for Ottawa supportive housing, audit finds

Homeless people with the most complex needs are being overlooked on wait lists for the city's supportive housing, according to a new report by the office of Ottawa's auditor general. 

The report presented to the audit committee on Friday looked into the city's supportive housing program. 

This program aims to reduce homelessness by providing housing with additional services and support, which experts say is essential as homelessness often overlaps with complex mental health and addiction issues.

The city administers funding from all levels of government to fund supportive housing providers, but the audit found that resources are stretched thin. While the city receives capital funding from the federal and provincial governments, these levels of government do not provide additional funding for ongoing operational costs.

"The city is then left in a constant state of reactivity to try to find the operating funds to support this critical type of housing," the audit found.

"The current level of operating funding is not sufficient to address the needs of individuals with higher acuity levels or more complex needs," it continued.

The audit found the city allocated $10.7 million in capital funding and $15.3 million in operating funding to supportive housing last year. In 2023, it allocated $24.8 million for capital funding and $11.3 million for operating funding. 

Service providers told the auditors that they do not always receive funds for required repairs to buildings. 

Demand for accommodation in supportive housing exceeds supply, resulting in a wait list. 

But the wait list is not prioritized based on need or how long people have been waiting. Due to resource constraints, service providers may not choose applicants with the most complex needs. 

"Individuals who have been in the system the longest and potentially require intensive or specialized supports may never get housed because their needs are considered too high for the available supports," audit principal Rhea Khanna told the audit committee. 

People who live near supportive housing complexes have raised safety concerns.

Community housing in Wateridge Village is an example of how capital investment has not been matched by needed support funding, according to Roxanne Field, president of the Wateridge Village Community Association.

On land that was formerly part of Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe, the city built three zero-carbon, eco-friendly buildings providing 271 affordable housing units, including 57 fully accessible units.

But Field said there is insufficient support on site, resulting in regular emergency services calls to the buildings. 

"These people are terrified, angry and stressed out; they do not feel safe in their own home, and this is not OK," she told the committee on Friday. 

"This is out of control," she said, adding that people with serious mental health and addiction issues are "just not getting the care they need." 

Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King, whose ward includes Wateridge, said the report highlighted the need for greater funding for wraparound services. 

"What we really need is the federal and provincial governments to step up to recognize that their capital investments are meaningless without corresponding operating and health funding," he said.

"We simply can't continue expecting municipalities to absorb these costs while simultaneously demanding we balance budgets and maintain service levels."

The city has agreed to the recommendations made in the audit, with Deputy Mayor Cathy Curry calling it "incredibly valuable to us."