Seniors 'gobsmacked' as community centre again becomes emergency shelter
Matthew Kupfer | CBC News | Posted: November 3, 2023 8:00 AM | Last Updated: November 3, 2023
Heron Road Community Centre previously converted during COVID-19 pandemic
Some seniors who use the Heron Road Community Centre say they're concerned that it's once again being used as an emergency shelter.
The City of Ottawa's general manager of community and social services confirmed the decision in a memo to council on Wednesday.
The memo said all shelters, pandemic-era distancing centres and overflow options are full. The centre, which was previously converted into a distancing centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to add space for about 200 more people as of the end of November.
"We were kind of gobsmacked about having to move again," said Christine Heron, one of the co-ordinators of the bridge club that meets on the second floor.
"Yes, the homeless people need a place. But the city needs to get its act together and find a permanent place for the homeless."
Social connection, health clinics important
About two dozen people were playing bridge there Thursday, and Heron said the social connection is very important.
So too are the health clinics that run at the centre.
"It's easy access that means one less trip for our seniors," she said. "You've got to remember that our average age here is between 80 and 85, so we need the convenience."
Janet White, another group co-ordinator, said they lost members — many of whom walk or bike — when the facility was turned into a physical distancing centre.
They've been told they'll move to the Carleton Heights Community Centre, a roughly 11-minute drive or between 45 minutes to an hour by bus, according to Google Maps.
"We definitely realize there's a need for housing. The weather's getting so much colder and the city doesn't have the capacity," White said.
"It's just that it seems that it's such an important area for seniors as well."
Pilates instructor Ana Pontiroli, who teaches a course for seniors, said she also saw participation drop off the last time they had to relocate.
"Probably for next time, they should [find] another place, another centre that's not being used like this one," Pontiroli said.
'Very limited options'
The Heron Gate neighbourhood has Ottawa's second worst ranking in the neighbourhood equity index, which measures disparity between areas based in part on economic opportunity and population health.
Heron Gate's median income is less than half the average for Ottawa as a whole, according to the 2016 census. Nearly half of the population is considered to be low income, compared to about 12.5 per cent for the entire city.
The city's director of housing, Paul Lavigne, said the location was chosen because it could be quickly converted to a shelter as the housing crisis has seen demand for lodging grow "exponentially."
"We had very, very limited options. Heron Road [is] the only option that we can stand up in an emergency situation," Lavigne said.
Lavigne said work can be done quickly to serve some of the city's 250 to 275 "unsheltered" people, many of whom are expected to access the shelter system this winter.
Lavigne expects the shelter — which already has showers, a kitchen and an eating area — will assist single homeless people rather than families, and mostly asylum claimants who have nowhere to live.
While the seniors centre and other programming will be relocated, the food bank will continue to operate there, Lavigne said.
Lavigne added that the plan is to leave Heron Road "as soon as possible" — but didn't provide a timeline.
"We recognize the impact that it has on communities," Lavigne said. "And we definitely don't want to be in recreational facilities at all."