Informing our community to better understand and support our neighbours in need

Community is the foundation of the work we do at Shepherds of Good Hope. We support individuals with complex needs, which can raise concern within our community. We understand you and we hear you. Below are the information and resources from Shepherds of Good Hope to foster safety in our community and better understand the needs of those we serve, and what we are doing to end chronic homelessness in our city.

Shepherds of Good Hope operates with a harm-reduction approach, which is important for those we serve who have substance use disorders. Harm reduction reduces adverse health, social, and economic consequences associated with substance use in ways that are non-judgmental and non-coercive. We offer many programs to manage substance use, such as the housing-based manages alcohol program, designed to stabilize participants’ alcoholism through a medically regulated administration of alcohol. In partnership with Ottawa Inner City Health (OICH), we facilitate access to safer supply programs for individuals using opiates or stimulants, and supply clean supplies to people who are using substances. Shepherds of Good Hope uses harm reduction technology throughout our housing buildings to prevent and respond to overdoes. Through our services and programming, SGH ensures individuals who have substance use disorders do it in a safe and controlled way. Additionally, Shepherds of Good Hope is in support of OICH’s initiative called the Block Leaders, a team who help keep our community safe and clean, including safe disposal of any safe supply materials, removing defecation/urination, or anything else that is of harm to our neighbours.

Although there are several individuals we serve in the downtown core where our emergency shelter and drop-in kitchen are, we also serve individuals across the city, including Kanata, Merivale Road, and Montreal Road. Shepherds of Good Hope operates across the city, offering services to those experiencing homelessness, from supportive housing to addiction management through a harm reduction lens. No one in our city is alone when they come to Shepherds of Good Hope.

Though we offer these services, some individuals may choose to live in encampments. Encampments are a means to mutual support and a sense of community among individuals with similar lived experiences. Individuals choose to live in encampments for many different reasons, including privacy and safety concerns, individuals may not be able to access shelters, or they want the freedom of an encampment. Our vision for the future is that everyone in our city will have a place to call home. Through our shelter transformation plan, our goal is to

eliminate the need for long-term emergency shelter stays because we will have enough housing support in our city for those experiencing homelessness.

We work with many different community partners that make our work possible. In 2025, with the help of our community partners, we helped over 2,000 individuals get the critical help they needed. We recognize some situations may be unnerving and not everyone has the same knowledge or experience, but we want to best support our community to support those in need.

Use this guide to help support you in the decision-making process of how to help someone in need. We call on our community to work together to keep each other safe.

It is important that our community feels safe and supported, from the individuals we serve to those who are our neighbours. With the proper information and resources, we know this can be possible for everyone. We want to work together to create a better community for all, one that can be home to everyone, regardless of their lived experiences. If you have any questions or concerns, or want to learn more about how you can become involved with Shepherds of Good Hope, please contact us at communications@sghottawa.com.