OPTIONS BYTOWN
ANNUAL REPORT
2021-2022
Message from the President
Message from Annie Carruthers.
As I write this message, I have just entered my sixth year on the Board of Options Bytown, including four years as President. Reflecting back, I can honestly say that my years with Options have been life-changing.
Options Bytown operates according to the principle that we all deserve a home. This more than just a slogan. What this means is that Options Bytown regards a roof over one’s head and a caring community to be the basic elements that determine human health, happiness, and longevity.
We all know how cruel the world can be though. Homelessness is an epidemic. In Ottawa alone, on any given day, well over a thousand people experience homelessness – 57 percent chronically so. My work with Options Bytown has shown me, however, that homelessness can be solved. Every day at Options we hear stories about how a first night in a studio apartment will turn somebody’s life around. How a spring barbeque can make someone feel like they are part of a family. How the display of a tenant’s artwork can excite a community, and inspire joyful expression. This is the solution to homelessness – a secure place to live, and support for the spirit to feel safe and thrive. And I have learned firsthand that this is what Options Bytown provides.
This past year I was lucky to work closely with Options staff, Board members, and our partners in the Ottawa housing and homelessness community on our Reconciliation Action plan. I learned of our staff’s commitment to our clients, and of the generosity of our Board. I saw how the constellation of organizations working across Ottawa are an important network – that we all play our parts, but that we are stronger when we work together. These forces came together to make our RAP a reality, but I know that they can do even more. This is energizing.
Going forward, I will work with Options to support our role in eliminating homelessness in Ottawa. Our organization is expanding so that we can provide more services to our own tenants to help them stay housed. Our Housing First team and our network of Resource Centres are growing to meet the demands of tenants in other buildings, and people that are unhoused. So much needs to be done – affordable housing in Ottawa is scarce. But we will do our part to contribute to the solution.
On a personal note, working for Options Bytown has given me energy, hope, and commitment to my community. I thank you to everyone at Options – the staff, my Board, and especially Options’ Executive Director Catharine Vandelinde – for supporting me to be part of this work.
Message from the Executive Director
Message from Catharine Vandelinde
Hello friends,
Every year as I write this message for our annual report, I take the time to reflect on the year that passed and marvel at the support our organization receives to achieve all that it does.
When I think of Options Bytown, I see a community of people that extend far beyond the staff and tenants and clients. It truly takes a community to do this kind of work, and we are so fortunate to have so much support.
Volunteers are immensely generous with their time, talents, and expertise. We have a Board of Directors who not only provide governance and oversight, but show up in all ways big and small to help us to prevent and end homelessness for people. Others turn up week after week, sharing their energy and talents as they cook food, practice yoga, play music, and lead many other activities which create community for our tenants and clients.
Our funders work alongside us to make sure we have what we need to provide services that truly meet the needs of our clients and tenants and support us to be creative and responsive as the homelessness and housing crisis continues in our city. Without them, the hundreds of people we support wouldn’t now be living in homes of their own with access to supports and resources to ensure they don’t return to homelessness.
Our donors meet the call each and every time, whether it’s to help us purchase air conditioners in the summer heat waves or build welcome kits for new tenants, their generosity comes through and we are so incredibly grateful. Donors allow us to provide what is needed for our tenants and clients to turn their apartments into a home, and to share with them the kindness that abounds in this community.
From all of us here at Options Bytown, it means so much to have you as part of our community and supporting our work in so many ways.
Catharine
About Options Bytown
Options Bytown is a non profit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in Ottawa. Our focus is on helping people to get out of shelters, off streets and into stable, permanent housing.
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
2021 marked a shift in the Options Bytown fiscal year – which has changed from Janaury-December to April-March. The revenues and expenses of the three-month transitional period (January-March 2021) are included in the 2021-2022 Annual Report alongside the full FY2021 financial overview.
In the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year, Options Bytown recorded revenues of $3,310,745 and expenses of $3,234,983. This resulted in a surplus of $83,291, which will be set aside for future growth opportunities or in case of emergency need.
During the three month period between the change in fiscal years, Options Bytown recorded revenues of $827,323 and expenses of $797,240. This resulted in a surplus of $30,083, which will be set aside for future growth opportunities or in case of emergency need.
The majority of revenue flowed to Options Bytown through a variety of funding programs administered by the City of Ottawa, including the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative, Reaching Home, Home for Good, and Supports to Social Housing. Our community partners including Recovery Care, Ottawa Community Housing, and the CCOC also contributed significant amounts.
TENANT STORIES
Options Bytown tenant becomes Canadian citizen after almost four decades in Canada
Chi is a 71-year-old resident in our supportive housing program as well as a Housing First client. He spends most of his days the same way – goes for a morning walk around the neighbourhood, writes in his journal, and often gets pho from the Vietnamese restaurant across the street for dinner. However, his journey to this point has been anything but ordinary.
Jen C, a Housing First Practitioner on our team, has been working with Chi since 2015. “I met Chi when I worked at the Ottawa Mission – he was actually one of my first clients as Housing First came to Ottawa,” she said. At this point, Chi had been in Canada for more than thirty years, having come to Ottawa as a refugee from Vietnam in 1983. He couch surfed while working at restaurants for several years, and started staying at the Mission in 2002.
“When I met him in 2015, Chi had no documents and didn’t know his status,” Jen explained. It took a year and a half just to get him a SIN card. At that point, Jen moved to a different team within the Mission, and so Peter Naylor, another Mission staff member, took over his case. “It was a real uphill battle with the Canadian government,” Jen said. “Really, Chi is someone who fell through the cracks – he should have had these supports for years”.
This was the win that Peter and Jen had been hoping for Chi. In late 2021, an apartment opened up at the Options Bytown supportive housing building on Gilmour Street, and Chi moved in, gaining a sense of security and permanence for the first time since he’d left Vietnam.
Chi now lives a comfortable but simple life at Gilmour. He lives in his dream neighbourhood – right in the core of Centretown – and across the street from his favourite Vietnamese restaurant. He doesn’t like to cook, so he orders from them most nights, and spends the rest of his time reading, writing, or going for walks in his neighbourhood. The rest of the building has welcomed him warmly – when Chi’s neighbours noticed he only had a thin windbreaker to wear on his chilly morning walks, they dropped off a winter jacket before the day was out.
“Chi doesn’t speak much English, but he understands it well,” Jen said, remembering his reaction when he first moved in. “We’d built all his furniture so that the apartment was ready for him the second he walked in. He kept asking “this is mine?” as if it was too good to be true – but really, this is what Chi has always deserved”. Chi later told Jen that sleeping in his apartment was the first time he’d felt warm in many winters.
While this would be a happy enough ending for Chi, there is one more detail that to Jen just feels surreal. “Typically there’s a physical presence requirement for Canadian citizenship that only starts ticking once you become a permanent resident, but we thought we’d apply for an exemption just in case”. These exemptions are rare, but at this point Chi had been in Canada longer than he’d lived in Vietnam, and, as a refugee, he had been legally stateless for more than half his life.
With the support of Peter Naylor and Don Chapman, an activist who advocates for citizenship rights as part of the organization “The Lost Canadians”, Chi’s citizenship application was approved on January 5 2022 – the day before Chi’s 71st birthday.
Jen had the privilege of (virtually) attending Chi’s citizenship ceremony, and she described it as a “humbling” experience. “Seeing all the families there, with their flags, and how happy they looked – it really fills your heart. Especially with everything that’s been going on, it reminds you that the Canadian flag has another side to it, and that for some it still remains a beacon of hope.”
We’re proud to share Chi’s story as an example of the life-changing work our staff do every day. Alongside our partners and colleagues across the sector, they show us that a future without homelessness is possible – a future where every story like Chi’s gets a happy ending.
Meet Harry and Hymen
Meet Harry and Hymen, brothers who moved from Montreal to Ottawa in search of community and safe place to retire. After arriving in Ottawa 15 years ago, their plan for retirement started to slowly unravel. They ended up in a situation they never expected: chronic homelessness.
Harry and Hymen hoped that Ottawa would be a new chapter, but instead they began to experience isolation and alienation.
Along with medical and financial set backs, it led them to chronic homelessness. For over 10 years, both brothers lived together either in shelters or in their car, but always remained together.
In November 2021, Harry and Hymen were referred to Options Bytown’s Housing First program. Our team worked with both brothers to find them a place to live and only a few months later they moved into an apartment, but our work did not end there.
Housing first practitioners supported Harry and Hymen daily with mental health support, taking them to medical appointments and connecting them with resources across the city. Along with daily support, we helped them work towards their goal of moving into a long term care facility together. Our entire Housing First team worked to make sure Harry and Hymen had everything required to apply for long term care and advocated for them in every step of the application process. After only a year as Options Bytown clients, Harry and Hymen were able to finally retire safely and comfortably in Ottawa.
If it weren’t for social service programs like Options Bytown working together, people like Harry and Hymen would be left behind. Options Bytown housing first practitioners fight for their clients every day. Thank to their tireless advocacy, in September 2021, Harry and Hymen have happily moved into long term care together.
Tenant Satisfaction
Our tenants are at the centre of everything we do, and every year we ask them to complete a survey to help us understand how we’re doing. Here’s what our tenants have to say:
100%
of our tenants are satisfied with the services provided by Options Bytown overall.
100%
said they either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Options Bytown staff make me feel like part of a caring community”.
Source: Options Bytown’s 2021 Results Based Accountability Report.
” Very happy to have Options Bytown.
Helpful and caring.“
“I am very happy working with
Options Bytown staff. All of them
are valued added to Options Bytown
and OCH tenants. Reliable guidance
and support team, especially dealing
with mental health, emotions due to
COVID-19 and eviction notices.”
” I know you are here when we need you.
When we have problems, you help“
Spotlight: Reconciliation at Options Bytown
In 2021, Options Bytown took significant steps forward in our reconciliation efforts by releasing its statement of commitment and announced the development of the Options Bytown Reconciliation Action Plan.
Statement of Commitment:
Options Bytown is committed to making a meaningful contribution to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. We are aware of the history of colonial policies and practices that have had destructive and devastating impacts on Indigenous people, culture, and language. We also recognize the role that social service agencies have played, both historically and in the present day, in the ways that colonization practices have directly resulted in homelessness and displacement from land, culture, and communities.
We are aware of the disproportionate number of Indigenous people that experience homelessness, both across Canada and in Ottawa specifically. This disparity is emblematic of the lasting effects of harmful colonial practices that continue to create vast inequities that impact every aspect of Indigenous peoples’ lives.
As an organization made up of individuals, we commit to learning how to practice reconciliation in our everyday lives. By listening to and learning from Indigenous partners and community, we will incorporate reconciliation into all aspects of our organization. Our action will be based on our clients’ needs for safe, secure, and supportive housing that responds to the specific cultural needs of Indigenous communities.
In adopting this Reconciliation Action Plan, our goal is to cultivate an organizational culture that listens to Indigenous people and respects the culture and needs of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. Options Bytown is committed to finding long-term, Indigenous-led solutions to the homelessness crisis that disproportionately affects these communities.
Our hope for reconciliation is that Indigenous people come to know Options Bytown as a community that listens to their lived experiences and responds by providing a safe space to live and heal.
Thank you to our partners!
The work we do would not be possible without a community of donors, supporters, and partners who share our belief that everyone deserves a home.
From everyone at Options Bytown, thank you for all that you do.
Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa
Bruyère
Canadian Mental Health Association Ottawa
Carleton University
Carty House
Catholic Family Services
Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation
Centretown Community Health Centre
City of Ottawa
Community Veterinary Outreach
Cornerstone Housing for Women
Crime Prevention Ottawa
Entraide budgetaire Ottawa
Food for Thought
Heartwood House
Lowertown Community Resource Centre
MASC Ottawa
Operation Ramzieh
Ottawa Community Housing
Ottawa Food Bank
Ottawa Humane Society
Ottawa Inner City Health
Ottawa Little Theatre
Ottawa Mission
Ottawa Public Health
Ottawa Social Housing Regsistry
Regionex
Respect Rx
Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre
Royal Ottawa Psychiatric Outreach Team
Salvation Army
Shepherds of Good Hope
Shield Security
Somerset West Community Health Centre
South Eastern Ottawa Community Health Centre
Supportive Housing Network Ottawa
University of Ottawa
Our donors and volunteers