Jun 16th, 2023

Ottawa Community Housing Corporation 2022 Annual Report: Highlights Investment in Existing Homes, Tenants and New Developments

On June 14, OCH Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Giguère and Board Chair Theresa Kavanagh presented the 2022 Annual Report to Ottawa City Council at the Annual General Meeting. The Annual Report provides an overview of OCH’s commitment to providing safe and affordable housing to its tenants. It presents OCHC’s strategic performance and organizational highlights. 

The goal? Identifying priorities for the next year with three key elements in mind: 

• Improvements to Existing Homes (OCH invested $65 million) 
• Supporting tenants (developing a complex care housing strategy, working with partners on harm reduction and supporting food security programming.) 
• Build more homes (The Corporation has a 10-year plan for building new homes. As part of that plan, we are building 900 homes to be completed between 2023 and 2026). 

Partnerships 

Each year OCH works with partners to help us meet the diverse needs of OCH tenants. In 2022, we unveiled some exciting new projects – such as the Public Food Pantry in Centretown – which provides 24/7 access to food thanks to the support of the community and the Glebe St. James United Church.   

OCH Volunteer Engagement Program 

OCH’s Volunteer Engagement Program engages volunteers from organizations in the community who complete projects that benefit tenants. As part of this work, volunteers visited 76 OCH communities – and 80 tenants engaged in projects that made a difference in their communities. 

Community Improvements 

OCH’s Tenant Experience and Asset Management team is working hard on community improvements. One example is the Welcome Home program – which aims to improve building entryways and common areas to increase the pride of place and make communities more welcoming for tenants and guests. There are 24 projects in varying stages of completion this year. Some examples of the work include:   

• New flooring 
• New lighting 
• Painting  
• Lounge upgrades 

Feedback from tenants to improve service 

In 2022, we introduced tenant surveys for tenants who request maintenance or pest treatments. The surveys provide feedback at the moment, allowing us to make real-time service improvements.  

If you’d like to learn more about what information is available in the annual report, you can find it here: https://www.och-lco.ca/corporate-information/#02.