The Hollyer House in Bells Corners is a compelling example of how this can work. It’s a community hub set to feature mixed-use affordable housing, community programming, a food cupboard and a women’s shelter.
The community hub is set to feature 35 units of mixed-use affordable housing, a centre for community programming, a food cupboard, a women’s shelter, and a community room. Two-thirds of the hub’s units will be reserved for women and children transitioning from emergency shelters, and people on the social housing waitlist. The final one-third will be sold at an average market rate.
The project is a unique partnership between Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, FAMSAC Food Cupboard, Cornerstone Housing for Women, Chrysalis House, the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, and Christ Church Bells Corners, with support from Cahdco.
This collaboration is notable at a time when resources for social projects that help vulnerable people are scarce, and the needs are significant. Ottawa declared a housing emergency in January 2020 and the situation has only worsened since then. More than 1,900 people, including children, sleep in shelters every night across the city. The waitlist for subsidized housing in Ottawa includes more than 10,000 households.
Faith-based institutions are neighbourhood gathering places that already have strong connections to their communities, and that contribute to safety and wellbeing. These groups have long championed community services by providing donations to food banks, responding to community crises and supporting refugees, homeless people and vulnerable youth.
While historic harms have meant that some marginalized groups are mistrustful of religious organizations, efforts are underway to repair some of those fractures. For example, the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa recently invested in new elder programming at the Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families — a small step on the long journey to reconciliation.
Many faith-based communities nurture civic engagement, inclusion and leveraging resources, all of which are essential for effective collaboration. Many local social services are also affiliated with or initiated from within religious communities. These organizations came into being as a formal way to carry out their communities’ spiritual commitments. Some, such as Jewish Family Services, function as full-fledged social service organizations.
To be involved in a project on the scale of the Hollyer House initiative, a faith-based organization must have enough organizational capacity, transparency and accountability structures in place, and be willing to build trust with communities who may have experienced legacies of harm from these institutions.
Like a pebble dropped in a pond, unique partnerships between faith-based organizations and mainstream community service partners can create ripples that will grow into waves and inspire others to unite and devote new resources to build social infrastructure and critical health and social services when our communities need it most.
Abid Jan is the Director of Capacity Building for United Way East Ontario.