Diedre Feinheit

This past summer the city announced a “housing blitz” — a partnership with the Shepherds of Good Hope and other community groups to connect with landlords and bring resources together in an effort to place 100 households in homes. Dayanti Karunaratne talks to Deirdre Freiheit, president and CEO of Shepherds of Good Hope, about the blitz, her experience serving vulnerable communities during the pandemic, and the poverty of loneliness.

What did you think when you first heard about the housing blitz?

I thought, It’s bold and it’s doable. We’re in the middle of a housing crisis, we’re in the middle of an opiate crisis, and we’re in the middle of a pandemic. There are so many things that are affecting homelessness right now, so I think this is a great initiative.

It has been suggested that some housing could come from units normally rented out to students. Won’t that put students in a bind next year?

We know there are students who are not coming back to school, who are staying home. So maybe some units will be available for our initiative. But we also have to remember that we are in the midst of a housing crisis — students will be affected when they do come back to school. We have to make sure that there is a place for everybody.

Shepherds of Good Hope moved to serving meals outside during the pandemic. When winter arrives, how will you continue?

We can’t serve meals outside in cold weather. All indications are that there will be a second wave of COVID-19, so we are planning for that. We have a small space. We’ll have to limit the number of people who come in, and we’re putting up the Plexiglas barriers and the physical distancing markers.

How has the social aspect of the shelter changed?

This spring we had to close down our evening drop-in, which was a program that was open to the community every night from 5:30 to 9:30. It was a place for people to gather. We had bingo and karaoke and AA meetings and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Closing that down took a big social component out of the mix. We’re looking at how we can reopen it safely this fall. We’ve all heard that mental health has been a challenge. People need a space to connect. We talk about the poverty of food a lot, but the poverty of loneliness is exponentially important. I think loneliness is not talked about enough.

Can you imagine using other spaces in the city?

I think there are buildings in town that are underutilized, such as businesses that aren’t able to survive. It may be that those spaces can be used for other things — those are conversations that have to take place with the city. And also, hopefully, to help businesspeople so they get the supports as well. This is a community issue — it’s not just a homelessness issue.

And how about you? This work must be tiring in normal times, and now you’re dealing with pandemic restrictions and a new, ambitious goal. How do you cope with stress?

We have such dedicated staff, and people have risen to the occasion. They inspire me. I’m also very fortunate to be able to go home every night. To actually have a home of my own, a roof over my head, and a supportive family. The lack of affordable and supporting housing in Ottawa keeps people in crisis. It’s a community issue that everyone needs to care about.