City of Ottawa allocates $2.1 million in funding to 18 different community agencies

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City officials have allocated $2.1 million of the city’s Community Safety and Well-Being Fund to 18 different community agencies, with 19 total projects related to mental health or racialized youth.

Each of the 19 funding initiatives to receive the money was first approved by the committee through a multi-stage evaluation process, according to a memo to council outlining the funding allocations.

The $2.1 million fund was approved in December and an open call for proposals launched in March, fielding dozens of applications from 85 different agencies requesting funding for projects worth a total of $9.3 million.

The funding was earmarked for projects and services in three distinct categories: programs for racialized youth, for mental health promotion and outreach, and services for Indigenous mental health.

The city approved ten of the 30 proposals it received for racialized youth and allocated $917,393. Officials approved six of the 51 projects related to mental health promotion and crisis outreach, allocating $782,607 to those initiatives, and approved three of the four proposals it received for Indigenous mental health services, allocating $400,000.

The recipients of the money, ranging from allotments of just over $30,000 to more than $160,000, received funding for community support projects, the development of a mental health well-being supports, support for people in addiction recovery, and more.