Notes from summer meetings of our community association
Ralph Blaine
The following are highlights from the Action Sandy Hill (ASH) board meetings of June and August (no meetings are held in July) and do not represent official ASH record.
Open drug use around the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre
In response to concerns about the crowds gathering in and around the premises of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (SHCHC) and the problem of open drug use in this area, Lauren Lemoine from Councillor Plante’s office encouraged residents to report these issues to the police. She assured the Board that the City is working on getting housing for the unhoused, including clients of the SHCHC.
The Chair expressed concern that no one seems to be in charge of supervising this area, and it was agreed that she would write a letter to the appropriate authorities expressing the ASH Board’s concerns about these issues.
Presentation from the President of uOttawa, Marie-Eve Sylvestre
Ms. Sylvestre, a longtime resident of Sandy Hill, and two of her assistants attended the August board meeting to introduce themselves and invite further cooperation between ASH and uOttawa.
She confirmed that the Brooks residence is being demolished and will be replaced with new student housing with a capacity to house 2600 students, which she said would be the largest student housing complex in Canada. (For more details, see IMAGE’s Fall 2025 issue online at www.imagesandyhill.org.)
A person in the audience expressed safety and other concerns about the many vacant houses in Sandy Hill owned by the university. The chair of the ASH Town and Gown committee said he would bring this issue up at the next meeting with uOttawa.
Relocation of Centre 454
This drop-in centre at the corner of King Edward and Daly, run by Belong Ottawa, is set to lose its City funding in January 2027, which will force the closure of the centre.
ASH received two letters expressing opposite opinions regarding this deadline. One requested ASH support the Centre’s request for a delay in this deadline; the other letter requested ASH support the current deadline.
Shauna Young, Executive Director of Belong Ottawa, spoke at the meeting making the case for the delay of the Centre’s move to another location, explaining the difficulties in finding a new site.
Councillor Plante suggested that before making a final decision, the ASH board should speak to City planners about their views on how the grant money now going to Centre 454 could be used more effectively. Councillor Plante feels that the $1.5 million dollars per year the city pays out to Centre 454 would be better spent creating wraparound housing for the homeless population, even if it’s just two bunks in a room. She also pointed out that if this housing model proves successful, it could be expanded into other parts of the city.
At this meeting, a resident of Sandy Hill asked that the ASH board not take a stand on this issue without directly consulting members of the community. However, the Board reached a consensus to give its support to the new model explained by Councillor Plante.
ASH committees seek volunteers
There are several ASH committees looking for more volunteers. You do not need to be a member of ASH, but you do need to be over 18 and a resident of Sandy Hill. Email ASH at info@ash-acs.ca to express interest in joining any of these committees:
Bylaw Committee —Chair Alec King
Environment Committee—Co-Chairs Marilyn Whitaker and Bryan Dewalt
Heritage Committee—Chair Andrew Johnston
Membership & Outreach Committee— Chair Cilaine Maurin
Planning Committee—Co-Chairs Masood Qureshi and Aidan Kennedy
Town & Gown Committee—Chair Patrick Munro
Municipal elections
ASH is organizing with the Lowertown association a public forum for the elections for city councillor and school board trustee. It will happen on October 4 from 2:30- 4:30 p.m. at Patro on Cobourg St The first hour will be a meet and greet to talk to school board and councillor candidates. The second hour will have remarks from councillor candidates and questions from the audience. A similar meeting for the mayoral candidates will be held in Centretown.
