Services for city's homeless 'dramatically reduced' over past 10 days

With Ottawa declaring a state of emergency earlier this week, many services designed to help the city's homeless population have been cancelled to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"It really highlights the housing crisis in Ottawa," said Deirdre Freiheit, president of Shepherds of Good Hope. "If people had a home they'd be able to self-isolate and practise all those good things that we're being asked to do. That they're not able to."

Freiheit said rooms at her shelter often house several people at any one time.

Supervised consumption sites see reduced hours

That means it's difficult for people at Shepherds of Good Hope to self-isolate or keep a safe distance from others.

Similarly, clients are also being asked to leave the shelter for a large portion of the day to allow the facility to be cleaned.

When people are pushed onto the streets, they often don't have anywhere to go and risk contracting the virus, she said.

For others working with the city's homeless, it's been a similar struggle.

"The services that serve people that are marginalized are dramatically decreased," said Wendy Muckle, CEO of Ottawa Inner City Health, which provides health care services for the city's homeless.

Muckle said many supervised consumption sites — where people use drugs in a safe environment — have reduced hours with fewer booths available to clients.

'Not the best time'

She said the protocol has been put in place to ensure proper social-distancing practices are followed.

Likewise, many places that offered food or other forms of support are not operating, she said.

For Muckle, the reduction in services means those still operating, like shelters, feel pressured to fill gaps by providing food and emotional support.

"We have more people in the shelter system than we've ever had before," Muckle said. "So it's not the best time for a pandemic to hit the shelters, frankly."

This has become especially dangerous as staff are not only running on little sleep, but often don't have the personal equipment needed to protect themselves from the virus.

"My real true worry is for the staff because if we have no staff then we have no system of care," Muckle said.

"If we have no system of care, then there's no one that's helping our clients."

So far, no confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been identified at any of Ottawa's shelters.

While Freiheit said it's a challenge to provide an adequate level of care and obey Ottawa Public Health's recommendations, the community has rallied around Shepherds of Good Hope and other front-line organizations.

She said it makes running the shelter a little easier but still hopes to encourage volunteers.

"Homelessness doesn't go away during a pandemic," she said.