Lowertown Community House reopens as gathering hub after food bank relocated
The converted duplex at 145 Beausoleil Dr. is now a community space where residents cook, do laundry, and watch World Cup matches together.
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The Lowertown Community House has returned to what it was always meant to be: a gathering space where neighbours actually connect.
For years, the converted duplex at 145 Beausoleil Dr. was stuffed with food donations — boxes stacked to the ceiling, volunteers hauling potatoes down basement stairs, even the bathroom pressed into storage. When demand for food assistance exploded, the Lowertown Community Resource Centre moved the food bank to its offices on Cobourg Street, freeing the house for renovations and neighbourhood programming.
"When I started in my role here, this house was pretty much a food bank," said Mélissa Thibault-Cañas, the Community House coordinator. "Now it's a place where people can actually come together again."
The house now serves residents who live in nearby hotel shelter accommodations — temporary housing without kitchens or laundry facilities. People wash dishes in bathtubs and survive on microwave meals. Here, they cook real food, do laundry, print documents, attend workshops, tend a community garden, or simply break isolation over conversation. On a recent Tuesday morning, staff greeted arriving residents by name, knowing who needed laundry time, who came to print paperwork, and who just wanted to talk.
"They come here just to break their isolation because they want to talk to someone," said staff member Eddy Niyonkuru. "Especially during the winter."
Many visitors stay far longer than whatever service first brought them through the door, lingering for hours to discuss life and community. Lately, the house has become an informal gathering spot for FIFA World Cup matches, with residents watching games while waiting for laundry or using the computers.
For Ana Matana, a Lowertown resident originally from Angola who has lived in Canada for nearly seven years, the Community House is part of what made Ottawa feel like home. "Everyone is lovely and they treat me very well," she said. "The house makes my life much easier."
