Artist conception of Veterans’ House.
By Scott Taylor
On September 3rd, 2019 construction began on an ambitious plan to provide a 40-unit community house for homeless veterans in Ottawa. The genesis for the initiative dates back to May 2013 when community discussions were taking place as to how to properly commemorate the military history of what was formerly the CFB Rockcliffe Airbase.
One of the suggestions was to simply erect a statue, however at that juncture there was also a growing public awareness of the fact that many Canadian military veterans were living on the street.
This prompted a proposal from Suzanne Le, Executive Director of the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) to propose that they instead “hollow out the statue and fill it full of people in need.”
Thus was born the project now known as Veterans’ House, which originally envisioned constructing a facility which would contain 16 bachelor units to house former military members.
RCAF veteran Andy and son John Carswell at the National Aviation Museum pose beside a seaplane in which Andy flew a dramatic rescue mission. Veterans’ House is named after Andy Carswell.
However, when the organization Soldiers Helping Soldiers identified over three hundred homeless vets over a three year period and a city of Ottawa study found 65 homeless vets in a single 24-hour search, it became evident that the scope of this project needed to be increased.
The current blueprint includes 40 self-contained units with several common areas and a landscaped garden. As the residents will be either homeless or at risk veterans a lot of care and planning was committed to ensure they will have immediate access to support services from a variety of MHI’s partners.
This will be what is known as a ‘Housing First’ model wherein the residents can remain in the lodgings for an indeterminate period without pressure to transition elsewhere. This will allow them access to a pressure free environment with on-site recovery from health, mental health and addiction related issues. Each unit will be approximately 400 square feet of private living space, fully furnished with eight of the suites being fully wheel chair accessible.
The total cost of the construction is estimated to be $11.5 million, with the initial $6.5 million covered by the Federal government.
So far MHI and their partners have raised $2.8 million through fundraising efforts, and they continue to seek donors and sponsorship to raise the remaining $2.2 million shortfall.
The land itself was estimated to be worth $2.75 million, but the Federal Lands Government generously sold MFHI the plot for a single loonie. Construction is expected to be complete by November 2020.
Once built, residents will pay a very modest rent which will cover the cost of the upkeep and management of the facility.
It has been named the Andy Carswell building in honour of a World War II RCAF veteran who was shot down over Germany. As a prisoner of war, Carswell made two escape attempts, which are detailed in his wartime memoir ‘Over the Wire’. His son John Carswell has been a major financial support of this worthy cause since its inception.
The objective of the Veterans’ House initiative is to improve the overall quality of life of the former military personnel, in such a way that also recognizes the crucial bonds formed within the military community. While MHI has the lead role, the overall initiative includes a long list of partner organizations; Ottawa Salus, Veterans Affairs Canada, Soldiers Helping Soldiers, Royal Canadian Legion, Ontario Command and Division G, True Patriot Love Foundation, Centretown Affordable Housing, Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services, Support our Troops and Helmets to Hardhats.
Esprit de Corps applauds this initiative and encourages those seeking to donate or looking for further information to visit www.multifaithhousing.ca. W
