Friday March 5, 2021 - Cornerstone Housing for Women is thrilled to announce that our women’s shelter and Booth Street Supportive Housing Residence have been re-prioritized to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in phase-one of the vaccine rollout. This good news came from The City of Ottawa on March 3, 2021.

On Saturday, March 6, 2021 Ottawa Inner City Health will be onsite to provide 125 women staying at our shelter with the first shot of the vaccine. They will also be giving the vaccine to 42 women living at our Booth Street Supportive Housing Residence, half of whom are a part of our Aging-At-home Program.

Given the vulnerability of these populations and our most recent outbreaks, Cornerstone is grateful for Ottawa Inner City Health and Ottawa Public Health’s efforts to move us into phase one. Both Ottawa Inner City Health and Ottawa Public Health have been tremendous allies in providing essential COVID-19 care to vulnerable women in our city.

Since COVID-19 we have seen a stark rise in the number of women needing shelter. In December 2020 Cornerstone Housing for Women moved its shelter to a temporary location in collaboration with The City and Shepherds of Good Hope. This new space allows us to provide a physical distancing center for women experiencing homelessness in Ottawa and increase our capacity from serving 61 women to 125 women in a short amount of time. There is a great need for providing shelter and care to women in Ottawa. We are pleased this is recognized by our City and Health Care Partners.

We are also thankful for the support we have received from our community throughout this pandemic. We recognize that this has been especially hard on people experiencing homelessness or those precariously housed. The wellbeing of our clients, volunteers and employees remains our top priority.

We are looking forward to having our remaining three supportive housing residences receive their vaccine in Phase Two of the vaccine rollout.

For more information please contact:

Amber Bramer
Resource Development Manager
Cornerstone Housing for Women
CEL: 613-878-3393
amber.bramer@cornerstonewomen.ca