On April 17, Cornerstone Housing for Women officially opened a new supportive residence at 44 Eccles Street.
“Cornerstone is very proud to be opening our fifth residential housing building. This month we will be welcoming 46 women and gender diverse individuals into a permanent home,” interim executive director Kate Jackson said, welcoming a crowd of supporters to a festive ribbon-cutting and fundraising event at the building.
“It takes a community to make something like this happen,” she said, offering special thanks to the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation, the City of Ottawa, MacDonald Brothers Construction, CADCO, and CSB Architect.
The building has been converted from an office building into residential housing adapted specifically for Cornerstone’s supportive housing model with common space to gather and office space on the main floor.
Ann Chaplin, a member of the Cornerstone board of directors, told Crosstalk that she had memories of doing her bar exams in the basement of the building when it was used by the law society. She said she was happy to see what had seemed like a soulless place at that time transformed into supportive housing that will be vibrant and full of soul.
MP Yasir Naqvi also shared memories of writing his bar exams in the building. “I did not know back then that one day this building which started as a girls’ elementary school would be repurposed to build 46 housing [units] for women….This is a great shining example of conversion, of turning a commercial or educational use building into residential housing, something [City councillor Ariel Troster] and I are working to do more of in our downtown core, so we can create more housing, more affordable housing, more supportive housing for people in our community.”
Cornerstone is an Anglican Community Ministry, and Bishop Shane Parker of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa reflected on how it began 40 years ago as a few cots in a church basement “when a group of people in Sandy Hill, people of faith and goodwill, began to listen and see what was happening in the community around them. And more importantly, they began to act to address it,” he said.
“There are many people who look with compassion and see what’s going on in our community and want to help. It was our great, great privilege to welcome everyone in to the work of compassion and care and justice and kindness. And that’s why we’re here today. Thank you all for sharing in this.”
More inspiration came from remarks made by Alaina, a former Cornerstone resident, who is now a member of the outreach program and “an advocate for all things Cornerstone because I think it’s a really important part of our community and has been a part of my life.”
She shared that after moving to Ottawa in 2019, “I didn’t have anywhere to go, I and a lot of the shelters were unsuitable. I called Cornerstone and they gave me a home.” She spoke of how Cornerstone accompanied her to the trial of her assault and supported her through the losses of two service dogs. She now lives independently and supports herself with a job at Loblaws.
Cornerstone helps “so many women like me live fulfilling lives. And I just want to thank each and every one of you for being here and for being a part of helping each and every woman that’s about to move in here live a life that has so much support and so many people rooting for them.”
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