We love checking in with our partners after a project wraps up! We recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with Clarence Keesman, Executive Director of Refuge Outreach—an Oshawa-based charity that partnered with Invizij to transform a former Catholic school into 26 supportive housing units for youth experiencing homelessness.
Located at 357 Simcoe Street South, the three-storey building now features studio apartments, including four fully accessible units, and a community centre on the main floor. An elevator and wide hallways support accessibility for all residents.
This winter, Refuge Outreach’s youth-specific warming centre housed up to 10 young adults per night. Delivered in partnership with the Christian Faith Outreach Centre, the initiative has “worked out beautifully,” Clarence shared, highlighting how seamlessly the warming centre integrates with the housing. Utility costs, he added, have been surprisingly low.
Residents (aged 18-26) benefit from laundry facilities, storage lockers, and welcoming common spaces. In the past year alone, the facility supported over 575 individuals, recorded 14,000 visits, and served 27,000 meals.
The impact of stable housing is profound. After touring his 160-square-foot unit, one resident was ecstatic. “He asked, ‘Is this all for me?’” Clarence recalled. “Within two weeks, he had his job back. Without the housing component, he couldn’t move forward in life.”
Burn marks remain on the terrazzo floors—remnants from when people once broke into the vacant building to light fires for warmth. Today, the space offers far more than shelter: it provides safety, stability, encouragement, and a true sense of home.
On the exterior, a parapet etched with “Holy Cross” and other Christian symbols remains intact, prompting Heritage Oshawa to recommend designation to protect the site’s architectural and historical value.
Adaptive reuse projects like this remind us of the incredible potential within the buildings that already surround us. Preserving history while addressing urgent, real-world needs is work we’re deeply proud of—and we’re more excited than ever to keep doing it.
*photo 2 is a staged render of a typical unit
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