Why All Eyes Should Be on the Matthew Perry House

In Ottawa’s escalating battle against homelessness, one project has emerged as both a hopeful model and a sharp reminder of our system’s limits: the Matthew Perry House. Tucked into the grounds of the Royal Ottawa Hospital, this proposed 160-unit supportive housing complex has sparked attention not only for its ambition — to provide long-term homes for individuals and families undergoing addictions treatment — but for the serious funding and coordination questions it raises.

According to Ottawa City Councillor and Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) Chair Theresa Kavanagh, this is precisely the kind of project that could change lives — if it’s given the tools to succeed.

At the heart of Kavanagh’s message is a bold yet evidence-based claim: supportive housing works. It’s more than a roof. It includes health services, addiction support, and the kind of wraparound care that helps people stabilize, recover, and stay housed. But supportive housing is expensive and complex to run, especially when nonprofits like Ottawa Salus — tasked with operating the Matthew Perry House — face resource constraints and rising client needs.

Kavanagh isn’t alone in calling for a reset. A recent report by Ottawa’s Auditor General, Nathalie Gougeon, outlined just how fragmented the current housing and health systems are. As demand grows, so does the urgency to stop treating housing and healthcare as separate silos. Without more coordinated investment from provincial and federal governments, projects like Matthew Perry House risk being symbolic rather than sustainable.

On June 11, Ottawa Council unanimously passed Kavanagh’s motion to forward the auditor’s findings to senior levels of government, asking them to step up. The message is clear: cities and community organisations cannot carry this burden alone.

The Matthew Perry House is a test. Not just of a new approach to housing, but of our collective willingness to match compassion with policy, and hope with funding. If done right, it could become a national model. But if left under-resourced, it risks becoming another example of good intentions undone by political inertia.

Residents are being urged to act — to write to their MPs and MPPs, to demand integrated funding strategies that blend housing with health services. As Kavanagh puts it, “We can’t solve homelessness with housing alone.” And she’s right. We can only meet this moment with all levels of government at the table, and a shared commitment to give every resident — especially the most vulnerable — a real chance at recovery, stability, and dignity.