Ottawa Inner City Health

09/04/2026

Last weekend, OICH was proud to be part of Ottawa Pride! 🌈

Pride and harm reduction share a common history rooted in resilience, resistance, and the fight for dignity, inclusion, and human rights. We are honoured to stand alongside 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and remain committed to being active allies, advocates, and partners in creating safer and more inclusive communities for all.

09/02/2026

On Monday, International Overdose Awareness Day, we came together to remember the 75 lives lost to overdose in Ottawa in 2025.

A heartfelt thank you to Beaudry Flowers for donating 75 beautiful flowers, each representing a life that mattered and a story that deserved more time. 💐

Thank you as well to our amazing partners at Jewish Family Services, OTR4MentalHealth, and Sandy Hill CHC / CSC Côte-de-sable for all your hard work in making this important day possible. 🌸🕊️

Together, we remember, honour, and continue working to end the stigma around substance use and overdose.

75 flowers. 75 lives. 75 Stories.

08/29/2026

💜 International Overdose Awareness Day | August 31, 2026 💜

📍 Human Rights Monument, Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON
🕚 11:00 AM–1:00 PM

Following the event, join us for a 4 km remembrance walk, visiting the OPH, OICH, and Sandy Hill CTS sites, ending at Parliament Hill.

08/26/2026

A huge thank you to our Outreach Triage Team for the incredible work they continue to do across our community. By meeting people where they are, building meaningful relationships, and connecting individuals to care and support, this innovative program is making a big difference!

08/17/2026

In honour of National Non-Profit Day, we're celebrating the power of community support. 💙

OICH welcomes donations at our Head Office, including clothing, footwear, toiletries, activity and recreational supplies, gift cards, arts and crafts materials, puzzles, games, and other everyday essentials. Every donation helps us support the people we serve and makes a meaningful difference in our community.

Thank you for your generosity!

08/12/2026

Please take a moment to add your voice to the call for help to give Centre 454 the time it needs to help transition their services.

Centre 454 provides essential support to some of our city's most vulnerable residents. With growing pressures on Ottawa's health and social service system, more time is needed to ensure a safe and stable relocation.

Add your voice today and send a letter to City officials calling for an extension to the January 2027 deadline.

📝 www.belongottawa.ca/blog/centre454advocacy

08/10/2026

A few months ago, our Block Leaders were given cameras and a simple task: show us the city through your eyes. As part of a Photovoice project funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, they captured moments that reflect their experiences, perspectives, and connections within Ottawa's downtown core. Here are just a few images from this project!

This project was made possible through the Ontario Trillium Foundation's support of Ottawa Inner City Health's Block Leader program, which creates low-barrier, entry-level employment opportunities for people with lived experience of homelessness, mental health challenges, and substance use. These positions provide pathways to skill development, training, confidence building, leadership, and long-term career growth.

By investing in peers, we are investing in stronger communities, more compassionate services, and futures built on dignity and purpose.

A heartfelt thank you to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, our community partners, and the peers whose leadership and lived expertise continue to inspire and strengthen this work every day.

08/06/2026

What happens when great comedy meets a great cause?

A special thank you to Jamine for organizing a comedy fundraiser at The Laugh Lounge in support of our Block Leaders, and to everyone who came out to laugh and give back to the community.

Because of your generosity, we were able to purchase new high-visibility safety vests, grabbers, embroidered backpacks, and a wagon to help our Block Leaders stay safe, visible, and equipped while doing their important work every day.

Our Block Leaders are on the ground helping build safer, more connected communities. We couldn't do this without you!

08/04/2026

OICH is proud to partner with The Ottawa Hospital - L'Hôpital d'Ottawa to offer a Social Medicine rotation for residents. Through this experience, learners gain firsthand exposure to community-based healthcare, the impact of social determinants of health, and the importance of compassionate and trauma-informed care for marginalized communities.

As part of the rotation, residents are invited to reflect on a meaningful experience from their time with OICH. Following her placement, resident Shaima wrote an impactful poem. Dr. Shaima Kaka has generously provided consent for her poem to be shared. Thank you Dr. Shaima Kaka for this thoughtful reflection and for helping showcase the lasting impact of social medicine! 💙

07/23/2026

Harm Reduction Supply Spotlight: Syringes

As part of our ongoing effort to educate our community about harm reduction, we're highlighting different supplies and the important role they play in keeping people safer.

Sources:

Fernandes, R. M., Cary, M., Duarte, G., Jesus, G., Alarcão, J., Torre, C., Costa, S., Costa, J., & Carneiro, A. V. (2017). Effectiveness of needle and syringe programmes in people who inject drugs – An overview of systematic reviews. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 309. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4210-2

Kerr, T., Small, W., Bucher, C., Zhang, R., Li, K., Montaner, J., & Wood, E. (2010). Syringe sharing and HIV incidence among injection drug users and increased access to sterile syringes. American Journal of Public Health, 100(8), 1449–1453. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.178467