Build Matthew Perry House: MULVIHILL

Local residents are concerned about the location of a clinic in honour of the late Ottawa actor Matthew Perry.

Matthew Perry House honours a star of the hit show Friends who died in October 2023 from a ketamine overdose.

Perry’s sister, Caitlin Morrison, with the help of family, her brother’s childhood friends and others, launched The Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada in his memory. According to the foundation, The Matthew Perry House, an addiction recovery centre, would provide a range of support services for about 160 people going through the recovery process. Residents would already have completed a treatment program by the time they arrive. The recovery centre would help reduce supportive housing wait times for people with mental health or addictions struggles.

Nevertheless, a group of Ottawa residents, The Common Sense Planning Coalition, objects to the location of the health centre. They believe the center should instead go up on an adjacent parking lot citing smart instead of a nearby informal park. The residents ask for sustainable and responsible planning that benefits everyone including those who need the services of an addiction recovery center. The parking lot is currently used by staff and visitors to The Royal on a daily basis and, additionally, once The Matthew Perry House is operational, the lot will be needed.

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Communication has been ongoing between Royal CEO and President, Cara Vaccarino and neighbourhood residents.

Bill Brooks, the acting president of the Island Park Community Association believes that: “It’s land of a public hospital, which I take the view is for a public benefit … the area they intend to bulldoze is used by the public on a daily basis.”

The land in question is zoned industrial and is, in fact, private property belonging to The Royal. According to Vaccarino, there is no children’s playground, no tennis court, and no walking trails for public use. That this property has been used by the public for some time is irrelevant.

Ironically, The Ottawa Hospital is currently building a massive new structure on an exceptional piece of property at Dow’s Lake that was once parkland and used for decades by the public on a daily basis.

Public use of private property works only as long as it does until a better use for the land comes along. In this case, the better use of this private property would be an addiction treatment centre that would benefit many within the community and help turn their lives around.

A lasting legacy for Matthew Perry.

Donna Mulvihill is a community activist and former hospital coordinator

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