Time runs out for Odawa’s drop-in centre for homeless
For the final supper at 510 Rideau St., a drop-in centre for homeless people run by the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, the menu included fish, turkey, onion rings and salad.
Given the season, there was to be a draw for some colourful Easter baskets, loaded with chocolates and other treats.
Yet as clients and staff prepared for the centre’s closing on Tuesday night, after the supper dishes were cleared, there was also an expectation of a roomful of long faces.
The closing comes almost two months after Odawa announced that it was being forced to shut down this drop-in centre due to a loss of funding from the federal government.
Between 50 and 125 people have come to this two-storey stucco house every day since it opened in February 2006. The kitchen served more than 28,000 meals between April 1, 2013, and Tuesday.
Clients also use computers, do laundry, collect messages and seek housing referrals when they’re here. But above all, they are able to connect with other aboriginal and Inuit people in Ottawa in what co-ordinator Carrie Diabo calls a “safe, culturally appropriate home away from home.”
Aboriginal paintings and drawings, medallions and a traditional drum adorn the cream-coloured walls in the dining room, which holds up to 26 people, and there is more art in the upstairs hallway and computer room.
While there are other homeless drop-in centres across the city, none are quite like this, say clients and staff.
“I understand non-native culture, but does non-native culture understand me?” asked Ron Julien.
The way he tells it, 510 Rideau is everyone’s living room. It’s where people go to inquire about someone they haven’t seen around for a while or where out-of-town families call if they need to get an urgent message to someone.
Julien is 71, lives nearby and has a vision problem that requires him to use a cane. Every day, he calls 510 Rideau to let staff know he’s OK. Or vice versa. He’s not sure who or where he’ll call now.
“Nowhere,” he said. “I guess it will become a blank wall.”
Diabo says a lot of clients come to the centre because it keeps them off the street and keeps them sober. She plans to keep in touch with a few during the transition to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
“Don’t lose my number,” she tells one man after giving him a hug.
Like Julien, Diabo says some clients are uncomfortable with going to other homeless drop-in centres because of an absence of traditional aboriginal teachings and food.
“They’re telling us they don’t like going there because there’s a lot of racism,” she said.
Odawa is trying to raise $125,000 by April 30 in hopes of keeping 510 Rideau open. But a sign on the door says the centre will be closed on April 1 “until further notice.”
The centre’s annual budget was roughly $400,000. Centre 507, the Well and Cornerstone Housing for Women are also set to lose funding Tuesday as part of a realignment of federal and provincial homeless dollars, which are administered by the city.
But because those other agencies also receive money from the city for other programs, they are eligible to apply for help from a one-time grant valued at $50,000, which council approved last week.
As for Odawa, the Salvation Army outreach van will make regular stops at 510 Rideau on Wednesdays to take clients to other services as needed, according to a briefing note from the city’s community and social services department.
The van will also conduct regular patrols throughout the remainder of the week and reassess the need over the weekend.