Cornerstone Housing for Women

As a community ministry of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, Cornerstone has been supporting women experiencing homelessness for 39 years. Every year 1,000 women become homeless in our city. Cornerstone provides a continuum of housing and support for women and gender-diverse people in Ottawa that is inclusive and reduces barriers.

We support over 200 women every day across our emergency shelter, four (soon to be five) supportive housing residences, plus an outreach program that helps women stay housed. Our vision is for everyone to have a home that supports them to live with dignity and hope. We have more than 100 full and part-time staff and more than 160 volunteers. Every year, we provide over 170,000 nourishing meals. Cornerstone provides basic needs and a variety of services including spiritual care, mental health and harm reduction support, crisis counseling, housing search and more.

Cornerstone is committed to social justice, collaboration, equity, diversity, and inclusion, respect and organizational excellence.

TOP FUNDING SOURCES

• GOVERNMENT: 60%
• INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS: 17%
• RENTS: 11%
• CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS: 6%
• OTHER: 5%

How you can help

Give

Last year, thanks to the extraordinary support of our community, we were able to help more than double the number of women in crisis with emergency shelter providing hope and healing. The need for affordable housing and emergency shelter crisis support for women and gender-diverse people was and continues to be at an all time high.

Our work is far from over.

We are thrilled to announce Cornerstone will be opening its fifth supportive housing residence in 2023. Our new building will be a place to call home for 46 women and gender-diverse people who may have never experienced a warm, caring community and home before. Every year Cornerstone supports more than 600 women and gender diverse people across our housing communities and we can not do it without your generosity.

If you feel inspired, please give today at www.cornerstonewomen.ca

GET INVOLVED

The more people in our community who get involved in supporting Cornerstone, the greater impact we can have to providing permanent, supportive housing for women in Ottawa. Here’s a few ways you can be a part of our Cornerstone Community:

Host your own event

Hosting your own event is a great way for you to involve your friends, family, neighbours and community in making a difference in the lives of vulnerable women in Ottawa. It’s easy for individuals, groups, local businesses, and schools to organize a fundraiser in support of Cornerstone Housing for Women.

Volunteer

As a Cornerstone volunteer, you can be a vital piece of the puzzle that helps women break the cycle of poverty and homelessness and build a new life of hope and stability. You can help us with activities, build a connection, become a colleague with a resident, help prepare a meal, sort donations, and more.

EVENTS + FUNDRAISING

Purple Tie Gala

After running our second at-home virtual Gala in response to the pandemic, which raised over $100,000, we were proud to bring back our Gala to an in-person event!

Thanks to our generous sponsors, partners and friends we successfully hosted our fourth annual fundraiser at the beautiful Ottawa Art Gallery.

Young Professionals Advisory Board

(YPAB)

Cornerstone’s YPAB members contribute to the success of Cornerstone Housing for Women through volunteering, advocacy, and fundraising efforts. Members deepen their understanding of the roles of non-profit board members, plus learn the value of fundraising. Members come from a range of industries and backgrounds but are driven by their common goal of bettering their community and raising awareness about our housing and homelessness crisis in Ottawa.

In 2021, the YPAB continued to adapt and find innovative ways to raise awareness, fundraise, and advocate for Cornerstone, amongst the challenges of the pandemic. They led a number of successful fundraisers and engagements raising more than $4,000. If you’re interested please reach out to our current Chair, Yasser Ghazi cornerstoneyoungprofessionals@gmail.com.