As 2023 comes to an end, we’d like to take a moment to share some big moments during the past 12 months. Thanks to tremendous support and hard work from so many contributors (Board, donors, volunteers, staff, community partners, etc.) we have achieved and accomplished many targets set out for the year!
Celebrating a major milestone!
In October PAL Ottawa celebrated a major milestone event - the ground-breaking of PAL Place!
PAL Ottawa board members and volunteers gathered alongside Ottawa Community Housing, City officials, Hobin Architects' and HEIN Construction to celebrate ‘shovels in the ground of Mosaïq Ottawa, the affordable housing development project that includes PAL Place.
This milestone event has been a long time coming, but most importantly, this news has the greatest impact on the senior artists and arts workers that PAL Place serves.
Artists often forego financial security through the ‘gig’ nature of their work. Thank you for joining us on our journey to actualize 86 affordable housing units that support this vulnerable and ever-contributing senior, creative population.
Mosaïq Ottawa and PAL Place ground-breaking. Photo by Maddy O'Regan. From left to right: George Anderson, Catherine Lindquist (former Co-Chair), Victoria Steele (Nominating Committee member), Peter Haworth (former Chair of PAL Ottawa), Cate Proctor (Manager of PAL Ottawa), Meriel Bradford, Stéphane Giguère (CEO of OCH), Jim Bradford (founding Chair of PAL Ottawa), Leah Cogan (Chair of PAL Ottawa), Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, Stephen Arbuckle (Project Coordination Committee member), Sandy Mackay-Smith (Campaign Cabinet Chair)
Fundraising:
PAL Ottawa’s PAL Place fundraising goal is a one-time $2 million fund that will further support senior (55+) artists and arts workers in need of affordable housing at PAL Place. Our fundraising effort started the year at $1.4 million and closed at $1.58 million. It takes a community to make this happen and it’s happening with small and large donations! So, let’s keep it rolling. Jump on board and be part of the community.
Volunteers Supporting Artists:
Since 2014, PAL Ottawa’s Supporting Cast volunteers have served 40 clients, providing over 850 hours of support. This is huge! Our Supporting Cast Program has become a relied-upon service for a number of senior arts workers in the National Capital Region. We are certain there are others out there in need of support. Be sure to spread the word to anyone in need. Thank you to our volunteers for another great year in making a difference in the daily lives of senior artists and arts workers.
Local Support Through Fundraising - 2023 Saw Incredible Fundraising Support!
Theatreks, run by Fran Pearl, organizes beautifully planned day trips for registrants to attend theatre productions. After a hiatus during the years of lock-down, these sought-after trips were re-established in 2023. With reinvigorated spirits, they rebranded and turned to PAL Ottawa as their benefactor, donating proceeds of their trips to support our work. Stay tuned to learn more about planned theatre trips in the new year!
In September, PAL Ottawa was asked to present at the Fall event for 100 Women Who Care Ottawa. The organization is a local philanthropic group of dynamic women determined to build a strong community. Thanks to their community-minded efforts in supporting charities like PAL Ottawa, they raised more than $1,200 that contributes to our fundraising efforts.
Long-time supporters of PAL Ottawa, TD’s Wealth Advisory Group, organized an afternoon of community and theatre at Ottawa Little Theatre, in support of PAL Place. Attendees enjoyed food, drinks and many curious and engaging conversations concerning affordable housing and the arts - it was a wonderful afternoon!
Cate Proctor, 100 Women Who Care Ottawa presentation 
Don Gibbons and guests, Don's Art Diversion fundraising event 
20th Century Boys, fundraising show - Photo by Erin Benjamin
PAL Ottawa’s Treasurer, Don Gibbons, has been revealed as a not-so-secretive artist. In November, Don organized a silent auction event, with more than 45 of his works on display. A whopping 40 paintings were sold with proceeds coming to PAL Ottawa. Not only are we thankful for his knowledge and expertise as our Treasurer, we are certainly thankful for his generosity and artistic talents. For more information on this event, including the funds raised and to learn about Don's art career, click here.
The year capped off with a sold-out fundraising concert from Ottawa’s own, The 20th Century Boys! The band has been organizing Christmas fundraising shows, benefiting local charities, for more than 20 years. Previous funds raised have benefited charities such as the Ottawa Cancer Society, the Ottawa Food Bank, and Shine Community Music Program. Thank you to the 20th Century Boys for an incredible evening and the show of support from artists to artists!
Community Connections:
2023 brought us even more meaningful community connections with incredible organizations, groups, and others.
We had meaningful conversations with Digital Arts Resource Centre (D.A.R.C) about the importance and accessibility of key resources for artists. We met with BeingStudio and Propeller Dance to foster connections with the wonderful community of artists with disabilities. We received outreach support from all organizations, helping spread word of PAL Place to their memberships.
Maddy O'Regan and Cate Proctor speaking with interested attendees at the OGF. Photo by Laura Fowler-Massie PAL Ottawa received incredible support this year from the Ottawa Grassroots Festival and The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC). Both the festival and GCTC welcomed us into their spaces, providing us the opportunity to speak with their audiences about PAL Ottawa and PAL Place. These conversations cultivated seeds of interest with audience members who had not heard of us. We cherish the invitation to be among art-lovers, spreading the word of PAL Place to the wider community.
During the Ottawa Grassroots Festival (OGF), Chris White invited PAL Ottawa to speak on CKCU’s live broadcast during the Festival. We recognize that community radio both supports and acts as a key resource for many artists in reaching audiences and building their careers. We are grateful for the opportunity to speak with Chris and Anne-Marie to share our story and our current initiative of providing affordable housing.
We made many meaningful connections and received support from others, including Dress for Success, Culture Outaouais, and Ottawa Senior Pride Network.
Research Project with Carleton University:
In an effort to explore and assess the needs and preferences of potential residents to support their ability to age in place successfully, PAL Ottawa partnered with Carleton University’s School of Social Work. A big ‘thank you’ to David Globerman, PAL’s outgoing Supporting Cast Coordinator for making this connection to the team at Carleton. Dr. Pamela Grassau, assistant professor in the School of Social Work and postdoctoral fellow Lindy Van Vliet were awarded a Partnership Engagement Grant (PEG) by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). We are thrilled to be working with them to prepare the design of this longitudinal study.
PAL Ottawa helped to facilitate hiring a Community Facilitator, Lolo Sirois, to conduct community consultation sessions, lead focus groups and small group interviews, and assist in the drafting of a comprehensive research report based on the collected data.
The successful completion of this project will help establish evidence for program and service delivery and the need to design an extended research plan to evaluate PAL Place moving forward. It will also produce several significant contributions for academic researchers who are studying age-in-place affordable housing initiatives in advancing community-based participatory action research methods related to housing research. Finally, it will generate evidence on the effectiveness and social benefits of independent living/age-in-place affordable housing initiatives, helping researchers, policymakers, and housing advocates.
Stay tuned for more news on the community consultation sessions and focus groups that will take place in the New Year!
Media Coverage:
PAL Ottawas was honoured to be featured alongside the Ottawa Community Foundation on Sam Laprade’s show, An Hour To Give. The interview aired on May 27, 2023 on CityNews and featured Peter Haworth, PAL Ottawa’s Chair at the time of broadcast, and PAL Ottawa’s Fundraising Campaign Cabinet Member, Brian Toller.
Interested in listening to the interview? Click here!
Thanks to journalist and writer Hattie Klotz, PAL Place was featured in the prestigious Ottawa Magazine. The article highlighted reasons PAL Place will be an incredible asset and benefit for senior artists and arts workers who, do not accumulate great wealth. To read the article, click here and turn to page 76.
More support from artists:
We are grateful to receive an increasing amount of public support from well-known artists and arts workers across Canada. Their support has greatly extended our reach. New eyes and ears are learning of our mission of affordable housing for senior artists - for that, we are incredibly thankful.
Here is a sampling of artists who joined our roster of support for PAL Ottawa and PAL Place this year:
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Robert Bockstael
“Artists from all disciplines will benefit from the PAL facility here in Ottawa. A place to gather, to create and, for those of limited means, to have a safe, caring and affordable environment in which to enjoy their later years. For actors, poets, dancers, musicians, visual artists and more, PAL will be central to all those who want to continue to contribute to our capital's vibrant arts scene and live in security and dignity when they are most vulnerable. Many of my friends and colleagues in cities across Canada are so much better off than they would otherwise be, thanks to PAL.”
Photo by Andrew Balfour“PAL PLACE is a fabulous lifestyle opportunity for artists and arts workers with and without disabilities. Artists should be able to grow old in a supportive community. PAL PLACE has been well planned by a mindful community for many years, and accessibility has been built in at every step. Anyone who uses a wheelchair knows how hard it is to find an affordable and accessible apartment. Being part of PAL PLACE gives us that opportunity and so much more. I am super excited to be involved in this project and to spread the word about PAL PLACE.”
“PAL Ottawa would join the successful PAL Toronto and PAL Vancouver homes to assist senior artists with their housing needs later in life. The ability to be among your peers living without the stresses of a conventional landlord or mortgage is a boon for those who have spent their lives in the pursuit of artistic excellence, often enduring volatile incomes from those endeavours. It’s an inspiring and rewarding destination for these artists in their later years to be able to secure this kind of affordable and welcoming housing and I wish the founders of PAL Ottawa all the success in securing it for their arts community.”
Annual Membership Meeting:
Our 2023 Annual Membership Meeting saw its highest attendance in PAL Ottawa history! On June 19, 2023 over 50 people gathered together in the common space at Mosaïq, an Ottawa Community Housing building located at 811 Gladstone Avenue, and across the street from the Mosaiq Ottawa property development currently under construction.
This AMM offered attendees and members a tour of the building and a 2-bedroom unit, and firsthand evidence of what PAL Place and its units will resemble! As we settled into the meeting, we were honoured to welcome and hold space for Grandmother Irene Compton, who opened the gathering with an opening prayer, teachings, and beautifully led us in song.
After serving as Board Chair for six years, all gathered extended their gratitude and thanks to Peter Haworth. As he announced his departure from his role, he passed the baton to Leah Cogan, an artist and the incoming Board Chair. With Leah’s wealth of knowledge working in both the arts and affordable housing sectors, PAL Ottawa is in great hands as we head into the home stretch of realizing PAL Places.
"As PAL enters this new phase of project development and the vision becomes reality, the culture that is established within and around the community becomes that much more critical. I am proud of how PAL continues to care for, empower and celebrate the artists in our city. And by focusing that care on contributing to the long-term affordability of life for our artists, we hope to see their natural leadership guide us to an even more vibrant, sustainable, and connected city." - Leah Cogan, Chair of PAL Ottawa
Photo from outside of Mosaïq (OCH building). Leah Cogan and Peter Haworth speaking to members at the 2023 Annual Membership Meeting.
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