Mayor Joins In Race Against Homelessness
Mayor Sutcliffe pledges to end youth homelessness in Ottawa by 2030 Ottawa
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe pledged today to end youth homelessness in Ottawa by 2030.
Speaking at a news conference at City Hall, the Mayor was joined by Councillor Laura Dudas, Chair of the Community and Social Services Committee, Kaite Burkholder-Harris, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Homelessness, and leaders from the community.
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This is a release from the office of Mayor Mark Sutcliffe
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“Being a teenager is hard enough when you have a home to go to. It’s almost impossible when you don’t,” said Mayor Sutcliffe. “Today, I am pledging that by 2030, we will end youth homelessness in Ottawa.”
Nearly 50 per cent of adults who experience homelessness were first homeless before the age of 16. By focusing on prevention, diversion, and support for young people, Mayor Sutcliffe said, ending youth homelessness is the first step toward ending homelessness completely.
In the months ahead, the City will announce significant moves and share progress toward achieving this goal. Today the Mayor outlined a few initial events and steps to support this goal:
• Budget commitments in 2026 that will include new investments and measures to accelerate progress.
• Participation in the Race to End Homelessness, a new event organized by the Alliance to End Homelessness, to raise awareness and critical funds for 75 local social service agencies.
• Support for a University of Ottawa hackathon this fall, bringing students, experts, and community partners together to co-design solutions to prevent youth homelessness.
The City has already made significant investments toward housing and homelessness. Since 2022, Ottawa has committed $82 million to affordable housing. This term of Council is on track to surpass $100 million in funding, more than double the investments of the previous term.
“There is nothing more important than every person having a place to stay. There’s nothing more important than ensuring our young people are safe,” said Mayor Sutcliffe. “Ending youth homelessness is an ambitious target, but the need is urgent, and the solution is achievable.”
“Ending youth homelessness is absolutely possible. Preventing youth homelessness before it starts gets us much closer to ending homelessness altogether. This won’t be easy, but it’s critical to stop the cycle of young people getting stuck in homelessness and disconnected from their communities. Ottawa is a leader in pushing towards this ambitious goal, and together as a community, we can get this done.”
– Katie Burkholder Harris, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Homelessness
“When we come together as a city, we can achieve remarkable things,” said Councillor Dudas, chair of the Community and Social Services Committee. “Ending youth homelessness will take all of us – government, community organizations, and residents working side by side. Together, we must start preventing youth homelessness and create a future where every young person in Ottawa has a safe place to call home.”
For information about the Race to End Homelessness, click here:
https://raceroster.com/events/2025/106339/race-to-end-homelessness
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While this is a worthwhile initiative, the 2026 City Budget Directions the Mayor voted on calls for any new investments in the City budget be matched by corresponding budget reductions. So what reductions are we talking about here?
Great aspirations need to be tempered by practical considerations. Addressing the conditions that lead to teenage homelessness is a never-ending effort. The combinations and permutations of factors is beyond comprehension.
An appropriate starting point would be acknowledging that success is measured one person at a time. Help this one, then move on to the next. Just recognize that there will always be a ‘next’.
Having said that, I salute the proponents of this initiative and wish them good luck in their mission.
Alex:
Thank you for this. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know but this is election talk. All three levels of government don’t have enough money to end youth homelessness in Ottawa or most anywhere else.
cheers
kgray
Very nice sentiments, however, not all homeless people are youths (which is loosely defined above as “a teenager”). There are many Canadian citizens up to and including senior citizens who don’t have a place to call home. If the city is going to help homeless people let’s look after all Canadian citizens first then deal with those who remain.
I have an idea, let’s cancel the homeless emergency and redirect all those efforts to end youth homelessness.
Another empty promise with no consequences, and Sutcliffe knows this, when it isn’t met. As you say Ken – election talk .