What we do
Since the first Options Bytown building opened its doors in 1989, our organization’s work has been grounded in the simple belief that we all deserve a home. By providing safe and permanent housing with support to people living in homelessness, we work in service of one goal: creating sustainable, permanent solutions to homelessness.
With your assistance, we are able to provide ongoing support to those experiencing chronic homelessness through our resource centres, supportive housing sites and our housing first program. Our focus is on helping people to get out of shelters, off streets and into stable, permanent housing with access to wrap-around supports.
OUR PROGRAMS
Supportive Housing
We provide supportive and permanent housing to 134 people who have experienced chronic homelessness. Each of our four supportive housing buildings offer daily on-site support to tenants.
Housing First
Our Housing First team supports and houses over 150 people who have experienced chronic homelessness. They provide ongoing supports to each client after they are housed, which results in 92 per cent of Options Bytown Housing First clients remaining stably housed after 24 months.
Resource Centres
We operate eight resource centres in Ottawa Community Housing buildings that are focused on homelessness prevention. Our resource centres see over 1,000 people each month who are accessing supports ranging from crisis intervention to food security.
We also offer a variaty of other homelessness prevention programs including the Hoarding Assistance Team (HAT), the Peer-Assisted Community Engagement (PACE) team, and Safer Supply Ottawa.
How you can help
DONATE
When people move into Options Bytown, the apartments are clean, secure, and private. But four walls and a roof are not always enough to make a home.
Tenants typically move in with what they can carry and nothing else. Funding for welcome kits helps us to provide them with the supplies they need to turn their apartment into a home.
Fundraising also allows us to provide food programs and other activities to build quality of life.
VOLUNTEER
Housing over 130 people in our supportive housing sites can be a lot of work, we are always in need of volunteers to help get our apartments move-in ready. If you have any painting or trade skills, donate your time to help us make sure our tenants have a safe and clean apartment to move into.
An important part of our work is building relationships and creating community at Options Bytown. To help bring our tenants together, we host various programs and workshops. Whether you want to teach a cooking class, lead a walking group or an art workshop, we are looking for volunteers to help lead all types of activities with our tenants.
Events + fundraising
A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley
Join us on November 26, 2023 at the Ottawa Little Theatre for a performance of A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley in support of Options Bytown. To purchase tickets, please visit optionsbytown.com/events
Get in touch:
380 Cumberland St.
Ottawa, Ont.
K1N 9P3
www.optionsbytown.com
info@optionsbytown.com
613-241-6363
Year founded: 1989
Total revenue for last fiscal year: $3,934,294
Twitter: @OptionsBytown
Facebook: @OptionsBytown
Instagram: @options_bytown
Annie Carruthers, President
Catharine Vandelinde, Executive Director
BOARD MEMBERS
- Norm Turner, Vice President
- Jason Hunt, Treasurer
- Lauren Kupferschmid, Secretary
- Daniel Leblanc, Director
- Jordan Daly-Frey, Director
- Melissa Dedemus, Director
- Sean Grassie, Director
- Heather Lachine, Director
- Al Shadid, Director
- Liz Wigfull, Director
- Garland Yang, Director
- Gesa Harmston, Director
- Benedict Wray, Director
TOP FUNDING SOURCES
Government funders: 86%
Individual donations: 2%
Other charities: 1%
Other: 11%
GEOGRAPHIC REGION OF FOCUS
Ottawa
