As the diocese’s goal of creating 125 affordable housing units has been reached and surpassed, attention has turned to making sure that the tenants are successfully housed and supported.

Christ Church Bells Corners is moving ahead with a support system for Hollyer House. “Our focus is the dignity of the resident,” says Archdeacon Monique Stone.

And even before sod is turned on its 15-unit residence, Community Housing Initiative Perth (CHIP) led by St. James the Apostle is planning for a team of “navigators” with lived experience to work alongside new tenants who need a helping hand with running a household.

Christ Church Bells Corners (CCBC) whose 35-unit Hollyer House opened last year, has established a residents support fund with initial funding of $4,000. (As of March, 11 of Hollyer’s 35 units had been rented.)

The fund allows CCBC to purchase items for residents such as linens and dish towels. The fund can be used for anything that is needed by a resident that is best purchased new rather than used.

As well, the parish has a residents support coordinator, Cath Seguin, who has been involved in the Hollyer project from the beginning. She is available to contact or be contacted by new tenants who are in need of help. An initial “welcome package” is provided to residents as they move in.

Counselling for the most vulnerable – usually those relocating from Cornerstone Housing for Women’s emergency shelter and Chysalis House shelter — is available from the Support Services division of the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre located on the ground floor of Hollyer House.

Tenants who come from the City of Ottawa’s social housing wait list have the added benefit of the support of a social worker.

In Perth, St. James the Apostle volunteers are hoping to break ground on CHIP’s project this year. The Rev. Canon Ken Davis has met with staff at the Table Community Food Centre who employ a group of “navigators” with lived experience to help clients access needed services.

He says the idea of an “alongsider ministry” is the echo from a Syrian refugee sponsorship program of which St. James and the diocese were huge supporters.

“Each family had an amazing team helping with everything from banking, language, healthcare and childcare.”

Stephanie Corrin, social justice and advocacy coordinator of The Table’s community food centre and colleagues have agreed to train teams of two screened volunteer “alongsiders” for each of the planned 15 units. Recruiting and training will begin once construction is well under way. The coordinator of the teams — and probably some volunteers — will be from St. James.

Corrin says her office is willing to work with volunteers, share experience and expertise, and be prepared to address and assist with any individual concerns that arise for the CHIP residents.

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Christ Church, Bells Corners, by no stretch of the imagination, is one of the earliest Anglican churches or parishes in the region. Indeed, worship services started out for local Anglicans as part of a stone Union Church shared with local Methodists and Presbyterians on land provided by a local Anglican tavernkeeper, Hugh Bell in the 1860s. No sooner had local Anglicans exerted themselves to build the frame Christ Church in 1870 than it unobligingly burned down in the huge conflagration blowing across rural Carleton County. And so, a quarter of a century before the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa was carved out of the eastern and northern sections of the Diocese of Ontario in 1896, Anglicans at Bells Corners found themselves at work building their third house of worship—this time in non-flammable brick.

Here we see that third house of worship at Bells Corners as photographed a century later as incorporated into a parish complex that shows the peak of the fourth Christ Church rising above the finishing touches being placed on the landscaping circa 1970.

The brick construction of the third Christ Church may have been a reflexive response to the Carleton County fire, in hopes that should another fire happen along, the brick walls of the new house of worship might prove more resistant to the devouring element than the frame house of worship had been.

It is possible that the design of the third church, although built in brick, was based almost exactly on that of the church that burned. The construction material may be different, but the corbel windows and the unambitious scale both suggest that its design was intended for a frame house of worship.

There are two curious aspects to the 1871 church. The first is the mansard roof on the belfry, a choice suggesting that the designs (the same design?) of the 1870 and 1871 church were both influenced by Thomas Fuller who mixed English Gothic Revival and French Second Empire in the Centre Block of parliament to express the bicultural make-up of Canada. The second, curious aspect is the unusual stick style design of the bargeboard of the upper gable, deliberately designed to echo the corbel arches of the windows, yet incorporating a Saint Andrew’s cross and two smaller crosses.

A century later, the 1871 church was incorporated into a larger new complex designed to show how modern the church could appear, yet still be conscious of its heritage. What did not show, at least not at first, was that most of the new complex was below grade.

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The project is rooted in the outreach culture of Christ Church Bells Corners and parishioners were out in force, full of pride and joy, to see the realization of their vision. 

After parishioner John Hollyer left a modest bequest that provided the seed money to get the project started the parish joined in partnership with the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa (ADO), later partnering with the non-profit developer Cahdco and gaining funding from the City of Ottawa and CMHC.

Cathy Cohen, Mr. Hollyer’s niece, did her uncle proud by cutting the ceremonial ribbon to declare the building open. 

Speakers at the opening ceremony riffed on the theme that Hollyer is a shining example of what can be accomplished when people and organizations pull together in common cause.

Archdeacon Canon Monique Stone, rector of CCBC, said as many as 200 organizations and 2,000 people had been involved one way or another in the bringing a dream to reality.

Nepean MP Chandra Arya said it is a perfect example of what can be done when governments work together.

To Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod it is a reminder of what makes a good community.

For Laine Johnson, councillor for College Ward, it is a precedent showing what faith-based efforts can produce – perhaps a new paradigm for affordable housing.

Leigh Couture, executive director of Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC), with prime space on the ground floor, said Hollyer represents a significant milestone for the organization as it faces an ever-rising demand for accessible services. 

Erin Coffin, a director of the FAMSAC Food Cupboard, also in its new ground floor location, was mindful that FAMSAC is 100 per cent volunteer-run.  She noted that Hollyer is its sixth home in 10 years. 

Bishop Shane Parker reminded those gathered that Christians are called to love and compassion. It is a great privilege as Anglicans, he said, to open our resources to the benefit of the community.

Christ Church Bells Corners has been doing just that for decades. In 1984, the parish joined with three other local congregations to found a non-profit corporation that went on to develop Harmer House, a 60-unit residence for seniors that opened in 1986 and still has a waiting list today.

Victor Wehrle, one of several parishioners with long memories, recalls that in 2005 the parish voted to allocate 10 per cent of offerings to community outreach. 

As a legacy of that decision today, treasurer Margaret Thomas reports that the parish has contributed more than $240,000 to Hollyer House.

Wehrle and many others were at their stations on opening day to show visitors around. They were, he said, striving to live out their faith. “A big part of that is, What can we do to make our city a better place? Hollyer House will make a difference.”

He already has an idea for a new project—working with residents to develop a community garden that will enhance the beauty of the location but, more important, it will provide social interaction to the benefit of residents and the community.

Immediately, Hollyer is providing a mix of studio, one, two and three bedroom units to meet the needs of priority groups including families, seniors, newcomers, refugees, and women and children transitioning from supportive housing. 

One third of its residents will come from the City of Ottawa’s Social Housing Registry waiting list.
One third will come from Cornerstone Housing for Women and Chrysalis House women’s organizations.
And one third will come from a waiting list of people in the broader Ottawa community who have need of affordable housing.

The architect for the building is Hobin Architecture with construction by Warlyn Contruction Ltd.

Website: www.hollyerhouse.ca

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“We are confident that we will reach our goal as parishes and individuals are moved to be part of addressing Ottawa’s critical shortage of safe, affordable homes for single folk and families in need,” the campaign’s co-chairs Sue Garvey and Cathy Seguin said in a statement.

Daniel Hussey, the campaign manager, said donations from parishes and individuals are part of a multi-pronged approach aimed at closing the gap. The other potential sources of support are suppliers to the project, the local business community and corporations.

Hussey is managing partner of Hussey Philanthropic Consulting, the firm that has guided the drive for $1.6 million, the Diocese’s contribution in partnership with Christ Church Bells Corners. The fund stands at about $1.1 million.

Garvey and Seguin have been visiting parishes to tell the Hollyer House story and gather support. “We sincerely appreciate the warm welcome and enthusiastic commitment we’ve received,” they said. Hussey adds: “We would like to thank all our individual donors, whose generous support has been fundamental to the success of our project.”

Applications have been made to corporations and foundations as part of the multi-pronged approach, he said. “All it takes is one to say yes and we’re on the cusp of our goal.”

Among those that have already said yes are the TD Bank Foundation, giving $100,000, Scotiabank giving $40,000 and the Anglican Foundation of Canada, contributing $15,000.

At an earlier stage of the project, the Hussey organization was able to land an anonymous donation of $250,000.

One part of the Hollyer story is already paying dividends. The FAMSAC Food Cupboard, providing emergency food aid to a wide area of west Ottawa and the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, offering a vast range of health and social services, are both in their spaces on the ground floor.

Trades are putting finishing touches to the residential areas. “We hope to have the building occupancy permit by the end of 2023,” the Rev. Canon PJ Hobbs, director general of Anglican Community Ministries said. “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, tenants will then be able to move-in sometime in the first quarter of 2024.”

The Hollyer experience can be seen as a clinic in developing a project through a pandemic.  Commitments to proceed were made by the parish and the Diocese before the COVID-19 outbreak.The pandemic caused unforeseen shortages in supplies and labour, causing construction delays. Hopes for completion by last spring had to be moved ahead.

Campaign manager Hussey says that for fundraising, the pandemic served to raise the level of understanding about the importance of safe and affordable housing. This at a time when homelessness and the issue of affordable housing gained significant recognition in the public square.

He echoes the sentiments of Garvey and Seguin on the scale of need. “While the supply through this project isn’t going to solve the problem, this is an actionable project where you can make a difference, where you can add more to the supply of affordable housing. Every donation counts.”

The Hollyer apartments are open to everyone qualifying on the Ottawa Housing Registry, which has been an important fact for fundraising. “We had to assure [potential donors] that .. the conditions for benefitting are not religious in nature,” even though the project is led by a religious organization, Hussey says.

Both FAMSAC Food Cupboard and the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre are already benefitting from having a permanent, purpose-built space.

Jeremy Leblanc, chair of the board of directors at FAMSAC, welcomes the stability after years of moving around multiple locations. He cites two significant benefits in addition to permanency.

Many customers face challenges other than food insecurity. The location makes it easier to refer them to services offered by the resource centre such as counselling, medical or language help. As well, Hollyer’s commercial kitchen, while primarily for the resource centre’s Meals on Wheels program, opens up the opportunity for FAMSAC to offer cooking and nutrition classes.

Leblanc acknowledges the significant benefit to FAMSAC of having some fit-up costs covered by the Diocese’s fundraising campaign.

For the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, the move to Hollyer opens a new chapter in a longstanding relationship with Christ Church Bells Corners and the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.

The centre operated programs, including its Meals on Wheels service, out of the former rectory for many years. But preparation of the meals was contracted out commercially. The Hollyer kitchen gives the centre the opportunity to develop a new business model for the program, allowing it prepare the meals in-house and serve more people.

“It’s a big challenge for us,” executive director Leigh Couture says, “to see if we can lower costs.” The service provided 32,000 meals last year, up from 25,000 the previous year. Demand is expected to keep rising.

Couture agrees that the proximity to the FAMSAC Food Cupboard offers mutual benefits. “We can be aware of each other’s services and support people better.”

Similarly, residents of the 35 housing units will have onsite access to the outreach services offered by the resource centre.

Couture also expects to see benefits coming from Hollyer’s community room, a common space that is intended to serve both residents and the non-profit tenants. The centre will be able to use the space to offer programs and services that align with the interests and needs of the residents. Examples are a group program for folks who feel lonely, a diner’s club program and a health support group.

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