Each year, MHI recognizes individuals whose dedication, leadership, and generosity strengthen our communities in meaningful ways. In 2026, we are proud to present the 2025 Volunteer of the Year awards to an extraordinary group of community leaders.

Crystal Sauvé - 2025 Tenant Volunteer of the Year
Crystal Sauvé has been an integral part of the Fine Crescent and Meadowbrook community for many years. Crystal and her children Andrey, Alyvia, Avery, and Amelia are a powerful force for connection, care, and community spirit.

For years, Crystal has stepped up in countless ways. She advocates for her neighbours, shares resources, supports and guides youth, and leads community clean ups. The list truly goes on. She is a deeply caring neighbour who looks out for the well being of fellow tenants and their families.

Since the MHI and Gloucester amalgamation, Crystal has taken on the role of community champion. She coordinates weekly food distribution as part of the food security program, ensuring her neighbours have access to essential groceries. This work is labour intensive and time consuming, yet she shows up every single week without hesitation and never asks for anything in return.

Crystal truly embodies community spirit and reflects our guiding principle of “nothing for us without us.” Her impact is lasting and deeply appreciated.

Christian Kratchanov - 2025 Gay Richardson Volunteer of the Year
Christian Kratchanov has made an outstanding contribution to MHI through more than six years of service as a Board member and Treasurer. He continues to give his time and expertise through the Finance Committee and Governance Committee.

Christian’s steady leadership and strong financial background have strengthened MHI’s governance and supported responsible financial stewardship. His thoughtful guidance has helped advance the organization’s mission and ensure long term stability.

His integrity, commitment, and generosity have left a meaningful and lasting mark on MHI.

Shirley Siegel - 2025 Gay Richardson Volunteer of the Year
Since joining MHI’s Governance and Human Resources Committee, Shirley Siegel has become an indispensable contributor. She has provided steady, thoughtful guidance on compensation system design and many other governance and HR matters, supporting the Board and Executive through significant organizational decisions.

Shirley brings extensive executive and human resources expertise from senior leadership roles in the Federal Public Service and international institutions including the IMF and the United Nations. Her professionalism, insight, and dedication have strengthened MHI in lasting ways and helped ensure the organization remains a leader in Ottawa’s nonprofit housing sector.

Bijan Safi - 2025 Gay Richardson Volunteer of the Year
As both an MHI Board member and Chair of the Properties Committee, Bijan Safi played a key role in strengthening MHI’s property management framework.

His leadership guided the development of long term asset planning, preventive maintenance strategies, and professional standards that will support MHI communities for years to come. Bijan’s vision and dedication have created a strong foundation that will benefit tenants well into the future.

His commitment and expertise leave an enduring legacy.

Want to Get Involved?

If Crystal, Christian, Shirley, or Bijan have inspired you, why not join in? Whether you are interested in supporting community programs, serving on a committee, sharing your professional expertise, or helping strengthen affordable housing in Ottawa, there is a volunteer opportunity for you at MHI.

Visit www.multifaithhousing.ca/volunteer to learn more and sign up.

Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) is deeply grateful to have received a recent $5,000 donation from St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, made possible through its long-running Loblaws gift card fundraising program. At the heart of this fundraising effort is Peggy Lister, whose dedication has supported the community in many ways.

Peggy has been a member of St. John’s for 55 years and a founding member of the St. John’s Affordable Housing Committee when it was established in 2005. Although the committee has grown smaller over time, its work has endured, largely due to Peggy’s commitment, care, and meticulous attention to detail. With support from her longtime collaborator and friend, Mary Frances Marshall, Peggy is the “go-to” person for the gift card program. She oversees bulk purchases, tracks prepaid orders, and ensures that every dollar raised benefits organizations such as MHI.

These efforts led to this year’s $5,000 contribution to MHI, funds generated simply by people buying groceries in a way that gives back. MHI is fortunate to have received support from this program since 2014. Peggy attributes the success of the program to careful planning and consistency. “I like numbers that work out,” she says. “Balances that work. It gives me pleasure.”

Peggy believes safe, permanent, and affordable housing is key to keeping people alive and healthy. At 84, she continues to volunteer about 30 hours a week. Peggy is the volunteer coordinator for St. John’s Community Shop, serves as the church’s Envelope Secretary, supports Cornerstone Housing for Women, and plays a leadership role with the Refugee Ministry Office of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, helping welcome more than 100 refugees each year.

Peggy Lister is deeply curious about how things work and approaches the world with care. When asked what keeps her feeling hopeful, Peggy mentions the weekly leadership of St. John’s Pastor and Rector, the Reverend Canon Gary van der Meer, who reads about what is happening in the world and gives others a way of processing it. “Every single week, I appreciate the act of making sense of things,” she says. “When faced with big challenges, we can strive to be helpful and take care of one another in community.”

Looking to the future, Peggy is mindful of the need for eventual transition and succession planning, though it is hard to imagine any one person fully replacing the dedication and oversight she brings to her work. Her story demonstrates that meaningful change often comes from persistence, organization, and showing up, month after month, year after year. Leading by example, Peggy shows that there are many ways to support affordable housing, and that every sustained effort, truly matters.

National Volunteer Week 2025 - April 27 to May 3rd
At Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI), National Volunteer Week is our chance to highlight some of the incredible people who make our communities better, happier, and more connected. This year, we’re thrilled to celebrate the 2024 recipients of the MHI Tenant Award and the Gay Richardson Volunteer Award—Laura, Manon, the Property Maintenance Team (PMT), and Kami Ramcharan. 

Laura and Manon – 2024 MHI Tenant Award Recipients
Laura is the kind of person who’s always ready to lend a hand. Whether she’s picking up staple food items for the food cupboard, sorting items for her neighbours, or handing out bread and clothing on giveaway days, her kindness shines through. She also brings joy to the community through her creative decorating skills—making the community room feel extra special during events. Her thoughtfulness and generosity make her a true pillar of support.

Manon shares her love of gardening in a big way. In the warmer months, you’ll find her outside planting flowers, weeding, and tending to the community garden—bringing colour and life to the space for everyone to enjoy. Her passion and dedication help turn the Haven into not just a place to live, but a place to thrive.

​Both Laura and Manon go above and beyond to make life better for those around them, and we’re so proud to recognize them this year.

Property Maintenance Team – 2024 Gay Richardson Volunteer Award Recipients
We’re also incredibly proud to sing the praises of our Property Maintenance Team (PMT)—this group of powerhouse volunteers is being recognized with the Gay Richardson Volunteer Award for 2024.

These hardworking folks roll up their sleeves to clean out homes, do repairs, and paint just about everything—from apartments to stairwells, parking lines, picnic tables, and more. Many are retired professionals—former physiotherapists, social workers, mechanics—who now dedicate their time to making MHI spaces clean, bright, and welcoming.

They start early (sometimes before 6:30 am!) and make time to enjoy coffee, muffins, and laughter together around 8:30. Their camaraderie is strong, their work ethic is inspiring, and the results of their efforts are seen—and appreciated—throughout the community.

​PMT members include: Danielle Dugas, Lorraine England, Fraser MacIsaac, Barbara Smith, Louise Patry, Geoff Joustra, Christopher Duschenes, and Bob Proper. Team leader Danielle, who’s been with the team for 15 years, puts it perfectly: “There’s real satisfaction in seeing a unit transformed into a good home for someone.”

In 2024 alone, the PMT contributed an estimated 900 hours of volunteer work. Their contributions save MHI a significant amount of money, which gets reinvested into tenant supports and community programs.

Kami Ramcharan – 2024 Gay Richardson Volunteer Award Recipient
Kami Ramcharan is another recipient of the Gay Richardson Volunteer Award, and her contributions to MHI have been nothing short of exceptional. Kami retired after over 35 years of service in the Public Service of Canada, where she worked in various roles, including as a Chief Financial Officer. Her career was diverse, with substantial experience in supporting science, diversity and inclusion, and Indigenous programs. A CPA with a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa, Kami now works as a consultant with a focus on financial management, diversity, and inclusion.

Kami’s dedication to supporting others continues through her volunteer work with MHI. She has served on the Development Committee, is currently on the Board of Directors, and holds the important role of Treasurer. Kami's commitment to helping MHI grow and thrive, as well as her mentorship and coaching for others, is truly inspiring.

Want to Get Involved?
If Laura, Manon, Kami, or the PMT have inspired you, why not join in? Whether you love gardening, painting, organizing, or simply want to give back, there’s a volunteer opportunity for you at MHI. Visit www.multifaithhousing.ca/volunteer to learn more and sign up!

Happy National Volunteer Week 2025: To all our volunteers—thank you. You are the heart of MHI, and we’re so grateful for everything you do. 

We are pleased to sing the praises of the Property Maintenance Team (PMT). ​These are the volunteers who clean and empty out homes, perform minor repairs, and PAINT! They paint anything from apartment units, to community areas, stairwells, parking lot lines, picnic tables and more. They are volunteers who help LSM Services - which manages properties on behalf of MHI and Veterans’ House Canada (VHC).

Mostly retired, they used to work as physiotherapists, auto mechanics, social workers…. Now they roll up their sleeves and get dirt-smudged and a bit paint-splattered to make MHI homes bright and clean. And they enjoy it. They like seeing instant - or at least steady - improvement. They feel good about participating in MHI’s housing efforts. And they love being together. The camaraderie is immediately noticeable. Having started before 6:30 am at an apartment in Blake House, by 8:30 they are ready for a coffee break and pull together all the fixings - their own improvised stools, a coffeemaker, cups, coffee and homemade muffins. There are smiles, stories and laughter.

They joined PMT at the urging of friends in faith groups, neighbours, other team members … now they’re a little family unto their own. Barb is in her 14th year; Team Leader Danielle, their organizer and scheduler, is in her 15th. She started as a board director, and because they also act as liaisons to committees, she chose the PMT. She appreciates “the tangible results, specific, if arduous tasks, satisfaction with good work and seeing a unit transformed into a good home for someone.” She inveigled her friend Lorraine to join, who recalls: “One day before a French oral exam I asked Danielle if we could spend some time together speaking French…. She said « oui », do you want to join me painting an apartment tomorrow? The rest is history!”
 
It’s a busy time for them. Their current job is a big one, which has required trips to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, lots of floor and wall cleaning, and now painting and window-cleaning. The external doors have just had a new coat. Louise is sitting on a hallway floor refreshing floorboards and Barb is up a ladder in the bedroom painting window trim. A medicine cabinet needs moving. Bob will be on it. He “loves hands-on work”. Tomorrow Danielle will be off to The Haven regarding a paint project. A unit at the Andy Carswell Building is next up for the team. Last year, between MHI and VHC they performed an estimated 900 hours of volunteer service, including preparing Kent House for sale.

MHI Executive Director, Suzanne Le knows how much PMT contributes to the non-profit organization. She says, “I am delighted to help shine a spotlight on the invaluable work of this group. They do a great job helping us refresh our units before new tenants move in and performing other jobs which, taken together, save MHI a considerable amount of money. We are then able to reinvest these savings in our tenant subsidies and community development programs. We can't thank them enough.”

The members also feel the appreciation of some of the tenants, who notice their
spruced-up community areas and thank them.

If you have a knack for repairs and painting, have some spare time and want to contribute to affordable housing, you may want to consider joining this team. MHI is always looking for new volunteers. To find out more about how to join PMT or other teams, please visit www.multifaithhousing.ca/volunteer.

Team members: Danielle Dugas, Lorraine England, Fraser MacIsaac, Barbara Smith, Louise Patry, Geoff Joustra, Christopher Duschenes, Fraser MacIsaac and Bob Proper.

Before David Hill became an Ottawa City Councillor, he was a volunteer at MHI. Mr. Hill first became involved with MHI through the Barrhaven United Church where he is a congregation member. At that time, in 2016, MHI was in the planning phase for The Haven and The United Church was garnering support for the new housing initiative. MHI invited folks from its membership to attend an open house outlining the vision for The Haven. 

After attending the open house, Mr. Hill became a volunteer and joined the MHI community engagement committee as a local community member, and board member of the Barrhaven United Church. He quickly became the committee chair and was enthusiastic to showcase events that represent the diverse faith groups of Barrhaven, including local Christian Churches, the South Nepean Muslim Centre, and the Ottawa Torah Centre. In addition, the local faith-led community rallied around the new residents, keen to help these vulnerable families navigate the challenges that poverty can impart.  

When MHI began embarking on a Veterans’ first housing model, Mr. Hill, a veteran himself., became very interested. He engaged his own network and assisted with fundraising initiatives to help make Veterans’ House Canada a reality. We all know how that story turned out: the Andy Carswell Building became Canada’s first supportive housing site specifically for veterans and Veterans’ House Canada (VHC) gained its own charitable status with a mission to provide supportive housing to veterans across Canada. 
Mr. Hill learned about city investments and processes through his involvement with MHI. Now as City Councillor, Mr. Hill maintains a direct connection to the community he represents through volunteering with MHI as well as the Barrhaven Community Association. 

It is clear his vision for affordable housing in Ottawa is shaped by his community involvement. In his own words, he notes that affordable housing is an important component in the overall health of Ottawa’s ecosystem: “We need to grow our economy so that people have access to good paying jobs.  We need to improve our transportation and public transit systems so that people can get to the places they need to go efficiently.  We need to improve the overall affordability of the city so that a market rate / middle class lifestyle is achievable for as many people as possible.  We need to improve public safety so that people of all backgrounds, faith groups, cultures, skin colours, sexual orientations, and abilities feel safe in their neighbourhood.  We need to steward our environment so that our next generations of Ottawans have a safe and resilient community that can absorb extreme weather events, appropriately manage our waste and keep our water systems clean.  Low-income housing plays a complementary role in all of this and I will continue to champion the MHI model because I believe in its foundational community sponsorship concept and I appreciate very much the outstanding and disproportionate impacts that they have in Ottawa.” 

Over the years Mr. Hill (and his family!) has participated in every holiday event since The Haven opened. He regularly attends The Haven celebrations of Seder, Eid, and Ramadan, and is always asking how he can help. Mr. Hill is humble about his involvement with MHI; as a volunteer, a fundraiser, and even his reoccurring acting role in The Haven’s annual Christmas play. Simply put, he puts his faith in action.

Dianne Cardin has been involved with MHI from the beginning in 2002 – at that time she was Minister at Barrhaven United Church, which was one of the first church members of MHI. She retired from full time ministry in 2009 and now serves as a short-term supply minister. 

Dianne’s very active involvement with MHI began with The Haven.  She engaged the Ottawa Presbytery of the United Church in fundraising $100,000 to aid in building The Haven. This involved encouraging United churches in the Ottawa area to make donations to MHI and the goal of $100,000 was exceeded largely due to Dianne’s efforts. 

After The Haven welcomed its first tenants, Dianne continued to donate her time and energy to MHI by championing many of The Haven programs which continue today. These include assisting with the community BBQ, The Haven’s Free Shopping Days, and supporting the variety of religious celebrations - in particular the Christmas celebration at The Haven. Through her community connections, Dianne found a business to donate toys each year to residents of both The Haven and Blake House at Christmas. As well, due to her efforts and leadership, churches in Barrhaven and surrounding areas collectively bake cookies for distribution to each household at The Haven for Christmas.  

Dianne actively fundraised for Veterans’ House Canada: the Andy Carswell Building.  As a representative on the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council of the United Church of Canada, she initiated the United Church Region Quilts for Veterans’ House project. She also gave leadership to the United We Stand worship service, encouraging congregations in the area to contribute to the $150,000 “United We Stand” fundraising campaign. This goal was also exceeded.

In 2020, Dianne joined the Membership and Outreach Committee and has provided excellent advice and insight regarding MOC’s activities.  Also, in 2020, the MHI Board was pleased to appoint Dianne as Religious Patron. 
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Dianne has been a long-time supporter, volunteer, and donor and we recognize her legacy to MHI and generosity of spirit through the Gay Richardson Volunteer of the Year Award for 2022.