Centre 454, one of three service locations for Belong Ottawa, is seeking a new home.
As an Anglican Community Ministry, Centre 454 has offered care and essential services to adults experiencing homelessness, poverty, mental health challenges, substance use related harms and social isolation for 72 years. St. Albans Anglican Church at the corner of King Edward and Daly Avenue has housed this ministry for most of that time. The City of Ottawa, which provides core funding for the program, has advised Belong Ottawa that Centre 454 will need to relocate, with a current deadline of end of January 2027.
Belong Ottawa has sent a formal written request for an extension of the transition timeline to ensure its “essential service continues without interruption for everyone who depends on it.”
The prospect of any move of this kind is daunting. Belong Ottawa welcomes 600 to 700 people to its three locations every day, with about 45 percent of them at Centre 454. In addition to meals and other essential services, Belong Ottawa provides referrals to help participants access income, housing, newcomer supports, addiction and mental health treatment services, education, employment, health, legal and other supports.
In recent years, Center 454 has upgraded its kitchen and laundry appliances. The centre provides access to showers, laundry and lockers where people experiencing homelessness can temporarily store their possessions, and cots with clean linens where they may rest in a safe space. Moving locations in the dead of winter would add another level of complexity at a time when the City requires warming centres and safe places people can seek shelter from the cold.
Belong Ottawa is a low barrier drop-in day program. Everyone is welcome, and for the safety of everyone involved, open use of drugs or alcohol has always been prohibited inside the program and on other Community Ministry properties. As the opioid crisis intensified over the past several years, however, the increasing prevalence of public drug use created new challenges for participants, staff, volunteers, and the surrounding neighbourhood. It also intensified pressure from some nearby residents who had long called for Centre 454 to relocate. Belong Ottawa staff have been trained in the use of Naloxone to reverse overdoses, and they regularly save lives. The recent closure of Consumption and Treatment Sites (CTS) in Ottawa, including two in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood near Centre 454, have increased pressure on the city’s health and social service system.
Kale Brown, director of Housing and Homelessness for the City of Ottawa, acknowledged that “Centre 454 is an important part of Ottawa’s social support network and has supported some of the community’s most at-risk residents for decades.” He attributed the need to find a more suitable location to “the needs of program participants and the surrounding community” evolving. “As a primary funder, the City is working closely with Belong Ottawa to review location options and support the transition. As planning continues, our focus remains on maintaining service continuity and supporting community well-being,” and helping “ensure day programs, like Centre 454, remain a welcoming community resource.”
Belong Ottawa’s executive director Shauna Young told Perspective it is vital that any new home be “meaningfully placed,” so it is accessible to the people Centre 454 serves. Launching a fundraising campaign to uphold critical services and fortify Centre 454 through this transition, Belong Ottawa confirmed its commitment “to continuing Centre 454’s compassionate, low barrier support for generations to come. As community needs grow, we are partnering with the City to strengthen this vital service.” A silver lining outcome would be finding a larger and purpose-built space to help meet increasing needs, Young said.
The Rev. Victoria Scott, director general of the Anglican Community Ministries, said: “As attention continues to focus on Centre 454’s relocation, our immediate priority remains advocating for an extension to the January 2027 timeline and helping people understand the impact this transition will have. As we navigate this moment together, we remain committed to holding with care the longstanding witness of this ministry, the people who rely on it, the realities facing the surrounding neighbourhood and the City of Ottawa, and the discernment required to find a new home where Centre 454 can continue offering dignity, stability, and compassionate support.”
The important role Belong Ottawa plays in the community was evident at a summer barbeque held in Dundonald Park on July 22 that was attended by more than 500 people, most of whom participate in programs at one or all three of its locations.
Rabeya Klein told Perspective that Belong Ottawa changed her life. She recalled being isolated in her home in the years before the pandemic. “I would find myself alone all the time, getting depressed and not feeling like I belonged anywhere,” she said. Fortunately, at that time, she lived next door to St. Luke’s Anglican Church on Somerset Street where the St. Luke’s Table program (now part of Belong Ottawa) served hot lunches and offered other assistance to anyone in need. When she walked in for the first time, the staff welcomed her warmly, and she decided to volunteer. She began helping to serve lunches and then moved to calling bingo numbers. Now she serves as a member of the Belong Ottawa Participant Advisory Committee, gathering and expressing feedback from participants and sharing ideas to improve the drop-in day programs. “I’ve made lifelong friends through volunteering at St. Luke’s,” she said, noting that the relationships and opportunities for social connection are one of the best aspects of Belong Ottawa programs.
Calley, told Perspective that she has visited all three locations of Belong Ottawa at various times, said she found the staff are patient and “are always there to listen to you…They helped me understand that there is help out there.” She added that they helped her find housing after she went through a difficult time. Calley also mentioned the importance of the friendships and social connections formed at Belong Ottawa.
The Rev. Victoria Scott reflected on the importance of the Community Ministries for Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. “As a church, we are called both to respond to immediate need and to name the injustices that create that need. Compassion requires us to meet people where they are. Justice requires us to ask why so many people continue to fall through the cracks and what must change so that people and communities can flourish.”
She added, “Too often these conversations become polarized, as though we must choose between supporting vulnerable people and acknowledging the strain that frontline ministries and neighbourhoods are experiencing. We can hold both realities and work toward solutions that serve everyone. We can affirm the dignity of every person while also saying clearly the current situation is failing many people, including those struggling with addiction, those working on the front lines, and the communities around them. Held together, these truths invite us into a shared work of discernment—one that refuses false choices and seeks the common good by pursuing solutions that honour the dignity of every person and strengthen the well-being of the whole community.”
Anyone wanting to support Belong Ottawa’s request for an extension to the transition timeline will soon be able to participate in a letter-writing campaign through Belong Ottawa’s website. There will also be opportunities to support the ministry financially through an upcoming fundraising campaign.
Supporters and allies are also encouraged to participate in or sponsor a team in the Ride for Refuge on Oct. 3: Ottawa Elmvale Acres (Belong Ottawa) – Ride for Refuge 2026 In the meantime, donations to support Belong Ottawa’s work can be made through the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa’s online donation page.Donate Now – ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF OTTAWA
Saint Bede’s, Nolan’s Corners — Lanark Deanery