COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Share Your Thoughts. Take our Survey
At the OCCRC, your opinion matters to us. Please follow this link which will take you to our survey as part of the City of Ottawa’s Community Funding Evaluation Framework (CFEF). It will take you about 5 minutes to share with us how we meet your needs.
The survey is anonymous and voluntary.
We thank you for your contribution.
Community Development is a process whereby community members come together to take collective action and find solutions to common problems. It pays particular attention to community members who face barriers and are at risk. It fosters collaboration to respond to local needs and basic rights such as:
Housing and Homeless
We are a member of the Alliance and End Homelessness Ottawa coalition of people and organizations working together to end homelessness through systems planning and coordination, public education and advocacy, and community-wide mobilization.
Poverty Reduction and Food Security
Poverty reduction involves both addresing the root causes and alleviating the effects of poverty in the community.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
* RETHINKING COMMUNITY SAFETY IN OTTAWA — In the wake of growing concerns in Canada and across North America about anti-Black racism, anti-Indigeneity, members of the Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres of Ottawa (CCHRC) released the report, Rethinking Community Safety in Ottawa (pdf)
* PINECREST QUEENSWAY COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE & REFUGEE613 have created the You Belong Here, series of three multilingual info-graphics to help newcomers identify, address and report acts of hate in our community. Find the info-graphics in both languages here.
Democratic Process
Municipal Elections: October 26, 2026 – Ottawa Community Food Partnerships Election Resources
For election information, visit the City of Ottawa’s website.
For more information on community development, please refer to the Guiding Principles for Community Development Practice.
RURAL COMMUNITIES
Ottawa contains a very large rural territory inside the municipal boundaries created through amalgamation in 2001. In fact, 80% of Ottawa’s land area is rural, which is the largest rural component of any major Canadian city.
The Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre covers a large area which includes Cumberland; Sarsfield; Navan; Vars and Carlsband Springs. Map of our catchment area.
HEAR Survey for Rural Communities
The University of Guelph’s HEAR Initiative (Health, Economy, Adaptation in Rural Communities) is conducting a landmark study on rural life in Ontario. This research matters because rural communities are chronically underrepresented in the data that shapes policy and funding decisions.
Learn more or sign up at https://hearinitiative.ca/
Take the Survey: https://hearinitiative.ca/take-the-survey/
Questions? Email HE**@******ph.ca
Rural Summit
The objective of Rural Summit in 2024 was to recommend improvements to services to residents and communities of rural Ottawa.
Update on Rural Summit commitments: https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-news/newsroom/committee-updated-commitments-made-2024-rural-summit
Rural Transportation Solutions (RTS)
Rural Transportation Solutions is a community-based team that aims to propose realistic, affordable and sustainable transportation options to help solve rural Ottawa’s transportation deficiencies.
The Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective
The goal of the Rural Ottawa Youth Mental Health Collective (ROYMHC) is to help rural Ottawa youth feel supported if they need mental health help and making sure they know where to go for support if they need it.
INDIGENOUS BEADING SESSIONS
Do you want to connect with your Indigenous roots? Beading is a great way to practice our ancestral art form. Beading heals, teaches patience and perseverance. Beading is medicine.
- Weekly sessions offered by Indigenous Roots Orleans.
- All skill levels welcome! Beginner to Advanced.
FREE | WEEKLY | IN-PERSON | ENGLISH ONLY
- Beading is Medicine – In-person
- Every Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (except long weekends)
- Free supplies on-site or you can use your own supplies
- Adults and youth* (with parental assistance)
- Parents must remain on-site with their children.*
For more information, check the events tab on Indigenous Roots Orleans’ Facebook page or email In*******************@***il.com.
ENGLISH CONVERSATION GROUP
Drop-in program for adults (no registration required)
Where:
- Ottawa Public Library – Cumberland Branch
- 1599 Tenth Line Rd., Orléans (beside Ray Friel Recreation Complex)
When:
- Mondays 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (beginning July 8)
The OCCRC’s Green Thumb Community Garden is more than a place to grow food. It is a shared space where community members come together to build connections, learn new skills, and support local food security. Read more.
HARM-REDUCTION
NALOXONE DISTRIBUTION SITE
- Naloxone is a medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
- You can come to the Centre to get a nasal kit (max 2 kits per visit).
- No ID, name or contact information required to receive a kit.
- A quick information session with an Intake Worker is required before receiving the kit.
- For more information, contact the Centre at 613-830-4357.