Sandy Hill drop-in centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, warns against rushed winter move

A Sandy Hill drop-in centre is again warning against a rushed move as its deadline to relocate this winter approaches. Belong Ottawa, which runs the Centre 454 drop-in, was told last fall by the City of Ottawa that it would need to move outside Ward 12 by the end of January 2027 to keep receiving city funding, according to the organization’s executive director, Shauna Young. The centre is currently located inside St. Alban’s Church on King Edward Avenue.

Local residents have previously urged the city to cut off funding, blaming the drop-in for sowing fear and chaos in their neighbourhood. Young said the relocation idea was first brought to the city two years ago, when Sandy Hill residents called Centre 454 a danger to the surrounding community and asked the city to defund it.

In a Tuesday interview with CBC’s Ottawa Morning, Young said the organization has been “partnering” with the city to find “an alternative space,” but that the “rational” move would be to extend the timeline. She clarified that Belong Ottawa has been asking the city for an extension “for a while.”

In a letter recently sent to city councillors, Belong Ottawa warned that relocating a service of this scale “cannot be rushed,” and that the winter deadline falls at a time of year “when people who are unhoused or lack access to permanent, supportive housing face heightened danger.” The letter stated that without adequate time, sustained funding and a suitable new location, the centre’s closure would disrupt essential supports, increase pressures on the surrounding neighbourhood and deepen existing gaps in Ward 12. It also said the city must act now to ensure services continue without interruption.

Young said Centre 454 receives more than 80 per cent of its funding from the City of Ottawa. The centre provides hot meals, laundry services and a safe place for people who do not have a permanent home. She also pointed to the closure this past summer of a safe consumption site at the nearby Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, saying of the aftermath, “There’s increased traffic in the area, there’s increased need.”

In a statement to CBC on Tuesday, the city said that once Belong Ottawa completes a review of potential locations, it will be in a position to consider any request to extend transition timelines. The city said it will ensure the community is informed of any proposed next steps, and that no additional decisions or commitments have been made beyond those previously communicated. It added that it expects to have more information later this fall.

Young said Centre 454 is open to moving, but that Belong Ottawa wants any new site to be “evidence-based” and in an “appropriately located area and location” so it can keep working in partnership with the social service network in the area. She said the timing is the concern: “What’s different now is we’re about to go into the coldest months of the year, Ottawa being one of the coldest capitals in Canada, and we have record number of folks on the streets.”

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