Ottawa's community and protective services committee met Thursday to discuss rising homelessness in the capital after Councillor Mark Taylor revealed a damning 41-page report detailing concerns and recommendations.
Taylor consulted with more than 30 organizations in the housing sector and interviewed multiple people who have experienced homelessness in Ottawa.
Some of his solutions include giving more money to emergency shelters, building new family shelters to address the rising number of whole families seeking support, and recognizing that Indigenous homeless people have distinct needs.
Councillor Rick Chiarelli tells CTV News the city has to closely examine youth and marginalized communities who are experiencing homelessness in order to fully address their respective needs and bring them more supportive services.
Chiarelli says while the city's 10-year homelessness plan, launched five years ago, has been done to alleviate the issue the city has a responsibility to do much more.
"An awful lot of work has been done and there have been some successes," he says. "But the fact is we have more homelessness than we used to have. It's not getting the job done."
Many of the suggestions within Taylor's report will require provincial and federal funding in order to be fully implemented.
The meeting went on all morning, with many members of public delegations turning up to address their concerns and ideas on the housing and homelessness situation in Ottawa.
