OSHAWA, Ont.—Inside a small Seventh-day Adventist church tucked away in Oshawa’s southeastern side on Nov. 30, 10 people stood on a stage and held diplomas in one hand while raising the other high in the air in a gesture of triumph.
They weren’t graduating from high school, college, or university. They were celebrating how a small initiative—run by three Oshawa residents with the help of community partners—had taken them from a state of poverty, near-homelessness, or despair to life situations in which they were able to earn an income and have hope for a better future.
