The Salvation Army’s Outreach Services Helps Bridge the Homeless Gap in Ottawa

The journey from being homeless to finding housing is no simple process, but often begins with trusting someone to help. For Street Outreach Workers at The Salvation Army’s Ottawa Booth Centre, building trust begins with being present, bringing a cup of coffee, providing a warm blanket, and sharing a kind word of encouragement.

The Salvation Army’s Street Outreach Team serves those living on the streets every day of the year. With two teams on the streets working 16 to 24 hours each day, the branded “Sally Ann” outreach vans bring warm clothing, sleeping bags, water, snacks and PPE to those who are most vulnerable. This is also an opportunity for the highly skilled staff who drive the streets of Ottawa to help and support those with no place to call home, building the critical trust that can open doors to housing.

 

This winter, the Street Outreach Teams served over 30 people each day, up from an average of 18 people when the pandemic first began. The teams are still working 16-hour days and balancing their two main areas of focus: emergency transportation and working with individuals to find them housing. In one day, the teams responded to 40 requests of individuals who needed to be transported to either isolation centres, hospitals or shelters.

“We bought higher grade sleeping bags than previous years to keep people warm because we knew it would be harder for people to find warm places.” – Kristen McDonald

Building relationships among the homeless population is an important step toward helping people to securing housing.

“First steps can be as simple as working on trying to get used to a friendly face or encouraging an individual to accept a cup of coffee, a sleeping bag or to not run away when we approach. Once those relationships are developed, we can then try to see if they are open to working towards things like obtaining identification,” said Outreach Services coordinator Kristen McDonald.

“Our goal is to end homelessness, and we recognize that everyone is at a different stage in their own journey. We also have a number of people that are well on their way to getting identification and being matched with a case worker in our Housing Response Team.”

Kristen says for some homeless individuals they are helping, it may take years to develop trust, and The Salvation Army is bringing on a Direct Engagement Worker to specifically address these long-term relationships.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Ontario, the Street Outreach Team grew more concerned that many people experiencing homelessness were more vulnerable due to a lack of available resources to survive, just as the weather was dropping below zero.

Adding to the dire situation being faced by Ottawa’s homeless population, Kristen shared that malls and 24-hour restaurants were suddenly closed, some drop-in centres shut their doors and others were only serving take-out meals – limiting the opportunities for vulnerable individuals needing a temporary space to warm up.

“We bought higher grade sleeping bags than previous years to keep people warm because we knew it would be harder for people to find warm places,” says Kristen. “We were able to get an emergency large order of these specialty winter sleeping bags thanks to Cabela’s in Ottawa. They were absolutely fantastic in helping us and they really went above and beyond in researching the best products to address the needs of those we serve.”

Kristen explains that The Salvation Army’s Housing Response Team has the capacity to support 60 caseloads at a time, and last summer there were 226 people waiting for service.

“For each person, the process of finding housing and providing stabilizing supports can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months. With the spring arriving, this means there will be a new influx of clients waiting, and there are still 170 people currently waiting on the list.”

Kristen says that The Salvation Army’s Street Outreach Services have significantly adjusted to assist with the increase in those needing assistance, the inherent risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the additional public health guidelines regarding PPE and sanitization efforts.

“Right now, our teams are doing everything they can to assist as many people as possible, but it is extremely difficult when there are so many we are trying to track and support,” says Kristen “I encourage people to remain patient and show empathy with those experiencing homelessness. Everyone is worthy of a warm place to live and support without discrimination.”

 

 

The Salvation Army Ottawa Booth Centre’s Outreach Services Team shares a day in the life of an Outreach Worker, serving the homeless community in Ottawa. A number of our staff contributed to this piece to describe the range of their experiences and needs of the community.

On the Frontlines: A Day in the Life of our Ottawa Street Outreach Workers

As Street Outreach workers with The Salvation Army, we focus on responding to the immediate needs of the homeless community and assist them in finding housing. We also offer emergency transportation to shelters, isolation centres and medical facilities.

We begin our day by meeting individuals who are sleeping outside or not accessing the shelter system. Today we’re going to see a gentleman who is known to hang out near one of the city’s warming centres on Bayview Street.

When we arrive, we find him having a smoke and packing up his supplies from the previous night. It’s a colder day. We invite him into the van for an opportunity to warm up and complete paperwork. As part of our support process, we complete a questionnaire that gives us insight into how homelessness has contributed to his level of vulnerability.

Just as we finish the last few questions the Ottawa Police Service calls asking if we can transport a client who is intoxicated outside a store on St. Laurent Boulevard. We quickly respond to the call and find a familiar face who was happy to see us. Without any trouble, he hops into the van and is appreciative that we are bringing him to a warm place to sleep.

After dropping off our client at one of the shelters, a frontline worker comes out and asks if we could bring one of their clients to the hospital because he is experiencing unbearable headaches. The Salvation Army is an innovative partner and we share hope wherever there is hardship, and as we often do, we met their request to take their client to the General Hospital.

During the drive the client tells us how much pain enduring and the difficulties of living on the streets. We do our best to comfort him and ask him where he’s been staying. He tells us he lives on the streets most nights, but checked into a shelter the night before hoping to find help with his headaches. We explain to him The Salvation Army can help him work towards getting housing, subsidies and benefits that he may qualify for.

He is very excited about the idea of getting off the streets. The client explains where he sleeps outside, and we document the directions and pass them onto the night team. They will bring him warm supplies and begin the process of finding him housing.

When pulling into the hospital we spot one of our well-known clients experiencing poor mental health and appearing to be in distress. We drop off our current client and approach the man in need of assistance. After speaking with him and offering help, the client agrees to let us drive him to the shelter where he stays.

This afternoon, we go to one of the city’s encampments. Often clients will choose this living arrangement because they are uncomfortable staying in shelters. This can happen because of their anxiety around larger groups of people especially during the current pandemic. Our priority for people living in encampments is to make sure they are safe and connected to housing services as quickly as possible.

We visit these sites regularly to check-in on the residents and offer any assistance we can. As with all of our clients we offer access to practical needs and resources. We also feel it is important to make sure these individuals feel cared for. We are there to listen to their stories and provide a comforting voice when they are afraid or feeling sad. We also celebrate their victories and we often see them make the transition from sleeping on the streets to moving into their own home.

The work can be both emotionally and physically challenging, but seeing how The Salvation Army’s Outreach Services makes a positive impact on a person’s life makes it worth while. We will continue to provide hope and support to the community’s most vulnerable without discrimination every day of the year.

If anyone would like to support The Salvation Army Outreach Services Team they can do so by donating warm clothing, sleeping bags and socks by calling 613-241-1573 and making an appointment with Brent Cashman. You can also call 3-1-1 to dispatch the Outreach Team if you are concerned about someone’s well-being on the streets.

To make a financial donation please call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or online at www.salvationarmy.ca where you can donate to a particular Salvation Army location or program.

Learn more about our Outreach Services in the following videos!