UNION MISSION FOR MEN

The Ottawa Mission started as, and still is, a shelter for homeless men. Women can access the shelter’s community meals as well as many other daytime services such as the Client Services Center, the Primary Medical Clinic, and the Stepping Stones Learning Center. But if women need shelter, we refer them to one of several small shelters specifically for women in the community. Women can access our Hospice nursing beds if they are homeless and dealing with a terminal illness. Men staying at The Mission must be over the age of 18. Other agencies in Ottawa serve homeless youth, such as the Youth Services Bureau and Operation Come Home. In 2015, we sheltered an average of 220 people every night – an occupancy rate of 86 percent. 1,982 different people stayed at The Mission last year and the average length of stay with us was 32 days. The Mission also serves an average of 1,308 meals every day, and more than double that on holidays – that’s just over 477,000 meals a year. Some of the food we serve is donated to us, but we still have to purchase a lot of food in bulk to meet the growing demand.