Building Community Trust

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Neighbors walking with neighbors.

Building trust, one street at a time.

Unseen Ottawa’s Street Stewards program brings trained volunteers to the same routes each week - building relationships, spotting needs early, and connecting people to local supports with dignity.

Our Mission

Building Community Trust

At Unseen Ottawa, our mission is to build connection, safety, and dignity through neighbor-to-neighbor contact.

We believe that being seen regularly and respectfully is the first step toward belonging - and that small, consistent actions can change outcomes for people living rough.

Street Stewards walk familiar routes each week, offering check-ins, dignified meal tokens, and quick connections to community partners. Over time, these relationships rebuild trust, reduce harm, and strengthen our city’s social fabric.

Our Approach

This simple, trauma-informed model is low-cost, replicable, and rooted in local relationships.

Consistency

The same volunteers walk the same routes weekly - trust grows through familiarity.

Dignity

Supports like PIF meal tokens are offered quietly and respectfully, through local cafés.

Connection

Stewards make warm handoffs to outreach programs, libraries, and service maps when higher support is needed.

Our Theory of Change

If people living rough are seen regularly by trained neighbors who can act immediately - with tokens, supplies, and quick referrals - then harms decrease, service uptake increases, and local systems learn faster.

Our data and monthly “Impact Briefs” help partners identify gaps, strengthen coordination, and make Ottawa’s safety net more responsive.