City keeps apartment deal for overflow family shelter in Vanier

The City of Ottawa will keep using the privately-owned Tabor Apartments in Vanier as emergency shelter space, but will put out a call to see if other landlords or hotels might offer units to helpwith a big spike infamilies needing housing.

Since 2015,the city haspaid Ottawa Inn ownerAhmed Syedto use hisbuilding.

Itpays $89 a night per unit for 15 families at Tabor, a sliver of the 370 homeless families now stayingin motels and dorms, often for months or years, under 22 other such agreements.

Some councillors had called on colleagues to end the deal at Tabor later this year and find the families permanent housing amid concerns about pests and a lack of a proper procurement.

During a marathon 11-hour joint meeting Tuesday, the finance and community services committeesvoted 14 to 5 against ending the arrangement.

Withshelter space especially tight during the pandemic, they agreed insteadto Coun. Laura Dudas's move to put out a new request for offers to see if others might also offer temporary accommodation for families.

Families choose Tabor over motel

City staff explained if thefamilies of seven, eight, or nine people wereto leave Tabor, they could only be relocated to multiple motel rooms with no kitchen. Laws would prevent these families from jumping the long queueforpermanent, subsidizedhomes.

One woman who visits the families every day said they told her to tellcouncillors they would prefer to stay at Tabor rather than wait in a motelfor a large enough unit.

"These families are given an option between bad and bad," said Gwen Madiba, whobefriended many of themwhen delivering food hampers.

Almost all the families at Tabor apartments are Blackand many are single moms. They didn't feel comfortable addressing councillors themselves for fear of losing housingbecause of power imbalancesor that their religions expect them to accept what's given, explained Madiba.

One statement byan 11-year-old girl described her struggle to focus on school in a small apartment with her brothers and mother, hearing rodents in walls,and crying with her mom when they feel forgotten.

"We don't want to move unless you can give us a place where we can stay forever," wrote the girl.

Inspections satisfy staff

Some families at Tabor told CBC News last week about issues with bed bugs, cockroaches and rats. Owner Syedinsisted he deals with issues quickly when he receives complaints and is only trying to help.

Public health,bylaw and city housing staff had made several inspectionsand all issues were dealt with, agreedgeneral manager Donna Gray.

"We are a social services department. We do not want anyone living in horrible conditionsand our staff go above and beyond to make the lives of these families as best as they can," she said.

The pandemic also made it hard to have contractorsgo into apartments, Gray added.

• 'We need to move out': Overflow shelter dispute to come before city committee
• Councillor objects to deal with for-profit shelter operation

"This is not a trial of Mr. Syed," agreed Madiba.

"It's the system that constantlyseems to be working against these people. Let us all sit down and try to find a solution."

City plans new housing

Earlier in themeeting, the joint committee approved a 10-year roadmap for how to build and pay for 500 new affordable housing units annually in partnership withOttawa Community Housing and othernon-profits.

They also intend to fundtwo new facilities, onefor families and one for women, with 40 to 50 beds that could reduce the need for motels.

• Families, newcomers seeking shelter now more than ever

More immediately, the Dudas motion calls for the city to run another "housing blitz" as it did late in 2020 to see if landlords have permanent units.

The city will alsorequest temporary accommodations.

"People might be willing," saidJohn Dickie of the Eastern Ontario Landlords Organization.

"Anywhere that students rented there are vacant units, so it's possible people might step up.This is new territory for all of us."