Find a Shelter Near You in Ontario
If you need a bed tonight, the fastest route is a phone call to your city's shelter intake. This page helps you find the nearest option two ways: use your location to sort Ottawa shelters by distance, or pick your city to see the intake number to call. Your location is used only inside your own browser to sort the list. Nothing is stored on a server, nothing is sent anywhere, and no account or sign-in is needed.
If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1. If you are fleeing violence, call the Assaulted Women's Helpline at 1-866-863-0511 (24/7) or a local crisis line directly. Do not wait for shelter intake.
Find shelter near you
Step 1: pick your city. Step 2 (optional, Ottawa only): use your location to sort the shelters by distance.
Ottawa shelters, sorted by distance when you share your location
These are the main Ottawa emergency shelters, with verified phones and addresses. Distances appear only after you tap "Use my location". Two more Ottawa shelters are listed below the map list without an address or a distance: Interval House and Nelson House. Their locations are confidential for safety, so call their crisis lines first.
Interval House of Ottawa - Women and children fleeing abuse. Crisis line 613-234-5181, open 24 hours. Address confidential - call first.
Nelson House of Ottawa-Carleton - Women and children fleeing abuse. Crisis line 613-225-3129, open 24 hours; admin 613-225-0533. Address confidential - call first. Stays up to 10 weeks.
These two shelters have no map point on this page, on purpose: publishing their locations would put residents at risk.
Intake numbers for every city
Call the number for the place where you are now. If a number does not answer, call 2-1-1.
| City or region | Who to call | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | 3-1-1, or toll-free 1-866-261-9799 | 24 hours a day |
| Toronto | Central Intake 416-338-4766; toll-free 1-877-338-3398; or 3-1-1 | 24 hours a day |
| Hamilton | 2-1-1 (no city-wide central shelter intake number was found in official sources) | 24 hours a day |
| London | Coordinated Access 519-661-4663 (519-661-HOME) or 1-833-932-2297; after hours call 2-1-1 | Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Waterloo Region | First Connect 519-624-9133 (adults); families 519-749-2450, after hours 519-501-7947; youth 519-749-1450 | Adults and youth lines 24 hours a day |
| York Region | Emergency Housing Central Intake 1-877-464-9675 ext. 76140 | 24 hours a day |
| Durham Region | Outreach team 905-666-6239 ext. 5510; toll-free 1-888-721-0622 ext. 5510; or dial 311 and press 4 | Outreach team 24 hours a day |
| Peterborough | Social Services shelter intake 705-748-8830; after hours 705-926-0096; Brock Mission 705-748-4766 ext. 1; YES Shelter 705-748-3851 | Intake Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM; shelters 24 hours a day |
| Kingston | 2-1-1; Home Base Housing (shelter operator) 613-542-6672 | 2-1-1 is 24 hours a day |
How this finder works, and what it does not do
The distance sort uses your device's location only while this page is open. It never leaves your browser: there is no server, no account, and no tracking on this page. If you do not want to share your location, just pick your city and call the intake number instead. Location sharing is optional.
This page lists Ottawa shelters by distance because Ottawa is the city with a verified shelter dataset on this site. For other cities, the intake line is the right first call: intake staff know which beds are open tonight, and a distance-sorted list cannot tell you that. The full Ontario directory at EmergencyHousing.CA community directory lists 6,000+ verified services by city.
Bed availability changes nightly. A shelter that is near you may be full, and a shelter further away may have a bed. Always call first when you can.
Search 6,000+ verified Ontario listings in the directory
Look up shelters, drop-ins, food programs and housing help across Ontario. For Ottawa detail, see the Ottawa shelter hub, and for the whole province, the emergency housing Ontario guide. To understand the types of shelter, read what emergency housing is in Ontario.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to share my location to use this page?
No. Picking your city and calling the intake number works without location sharing. The location button only sorts the Ottawa shelter list by distance, and your location never leaves your browser.
Why are some shelters missing from the distance list?
Interval House and Nelson House are violence-against-women shelters with confidential locations. They are listed on this page with their crisis lines, but with no address and no map point, for the safety of the people staying there.
What if the nearest shelter is full?
Call intake again. In Ottawa, call 3-1-1; in Toronto, Central Intake at 416-338-4766; anywhere else, call 2-1-1. Intake staff can refer you to the next open bed, a motel placement, or a warming space, and outreach teams can provide transport.