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Meet Block Leaders Melvis (left), Michel (middle) and Carlos (right).

It’s a warm late spring morning in the ByWard Market. Soon, the streets will fill with big buses and tourists keen to explore the nation’s capital.

For now, it’s quiet — except for a conspicuous group of people wearing bright red vests who are sprinkled throughout the Market, inspecting front stoops of businesses and peeking under stairwells.

Meet the Block Leaders, members of a new program changing the lives of some of Ottawa’s most vulnerable residents.

Harnessing the power of peer support

In summer 2023, Ottawa Inner City Health (OICH) launched the Block Leaders pilot program, which helps support those who are unhoused or use drugs by recruiting people from this community to act as peer mentors. One year later, the program — and many of its participants — are thriving.

Every day in the ByWard Market, Block Leaders head out in pairs to provide support to those in distress, help people who are unhoused secure beds at nearby shelters and respond to overdoses. Block Leaders help local businesses by waking up people who are sleeping outside storefronts and offering them coffee and muffins. They also help keep their neighbourhood clean by picking up litter and drug paraphernalia.

Currently, more than 100 Block Leaders are enrolled in the program, which sees them venturing out into the community for two-hour shifts, six hours a day, seven days a week. OICH pays Block Leaders for their time and provides them with training, including for CPR and compassionate communication.

For more than 20 years, OICH has improved access to health care for people in our community who are unhoused and have complex health needs, including those with chronic mental health and substance use issues.

“This program is about giving them hope and purpose,” says Rob Boyd, CEO of OICH. “People who are unhoused and people who use drugs are the same as all of us. Their needs are the same, and the things that are going to help them recover and integrate are the same things that everybody needs. They need a job, a home, a friend.”

“Good community mental health is about feeling that we belong in our community, that we are making a contribution and that we have agency over ourselves,” says Wendy Muckle, co-founder and former executive director of OICH and now a very active volunteer. “And the Block Leaders program, in its own small way, builds the foundation for that.”

A program for the vulnerable, by the vulnerable

The Block Leaders program was born from meetings that OICH held with residents who are unhoused and use drugs.

“They told us about the impact of fentanyl on the street community,” recalls Rob. “Survival became more desperate and people became more disconnected from each other. And then we hit the pandemic, and their world changed overnight. All of their support systems fell away — their ability to access care was limited. The people who had experienced trauma and loss were experiencing it all over again. Most of us have returned to our pre-pandemic lives, but this is not true of this community, who are still experiencing a heavy toll. Add on an affordable housing crisis, and you get a perfect storm of system failures that impact the most marginalized.”

The broader community is also feeling the effects of this shift, says Wendy. “Now, we’ve got a situation where the impacts on this vulnerable population are spilling over and impacting everybody — people who live here, people who visit here and the businesses,” she explains.

It was this vulnerable population who came up with a solution. “They wanted to reset the social norms of the street community, to go back to the way things were before COVID and before fentanyl, and start taking care of each other again,” says Rob. “So, they came up with the idea of the Block Leaders program.”

Just one year into the program, that reset of social norms is already happening, reports Wendy. “For example, amongst people who use drugs, there’s always been this convention that when children walk by, somebody calls a warning for others to put away or stop doing their drugs. That convention disappeared with fentanyl,” she explains. “And now, that convention has reappeared.”

The program has also had an unintended — but very welcome — outcome. “The program has gotten people job ready. We didn’t anticipate this would happen so quickly,” reports Rob. “We’ve had people who’ve left the program and moved into housing.”

Businesses and residents are seeing a difference

“From talking with a few businesses, they’re pleased with what they’re seeing,” reports Zachary Dayler, Executive Director of the ByWard Market District Authority, which supports and advocates for the ByWard Market district, including local businesses. “For example, some business owners have told me that the Block Leaders have helped with people who’ve come into their shops and caused a disturbance. In the past, that would probably have led to a call to police or security, but the Block Leaders talked to them and deescalated the situation.”

Residents like Jamine Ackert are also pleased with what they’re seeing — less litter, now that Block Leaders are helping tidy up the neighbourhood. “I thank them every day we see them out there. All the residents of my condo are thrilled,” says Jamine, who’s president of the board of directors for a condominium development beside the Shepherds of Good Hope shelter, where the Block Leaders program got started. “Now, I’m giving back to the Block Leaders by offering them mindful photography workshops at OICH.”

The ByWard Market District Authority has also partnered with OICH, hosting the Block Leaders during their patrols in the Market. With the program already showing promise, Zachary is considering expanding it.

“The next phase would be looking at welcoming the Block Leaders to other streets throughout the ByWard Market district,” he says, “and whether to turn this pilot program into a permanent program.”

Hear from the Block Leaders

“I love to help people, so this is my opportunity,” says Block Leader Carlos, right before his shift. “I want to help people, save people and save lives. I try to help people even when I’m not on shift.”

“I fell in love with the program,” says Kehinde. “Helping the community, improving the community, saving people’s lives — I think it’s a lovely thing for me to do. It’s been a lovely program to me.”

“I was a Block Leader for nine months. Now, I’m a supervisor of the Block Leaders,” says Diane. “They’re all my kids! They’re so sweet!”

The Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Inner City Health: A partnership spanning decades

“The Ottawa Hospital was a big player in the start up of Ottawa Inner City Health and continues to give us lots of different kinds of support,” explains Wendy.

Today, all physicians at OICH also work at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), a partnership that helps integrate care provided in hospitals and in the community. TOH’s former chief of staff, Dr. Jeff Turnbull, co-founded OICH and, until very recently, served as the organization’s medical director, dedicating his days to caring for some of our city’s most vulnerable patients.

Since Wendy and Dr. Turnbull founded OICH in 2001, the not-for-profit has grown to become a staple of our community, launching an array of programs and services to ensure that people facing barriers to good health receive the same quality of care as other Canadians.

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