The Gatehouse

Maria Barcelos is the Executive Director of the Gatehouse.

Maria believes wholeheartedly in community engagement and the importance of community-based responses to underlying social issues. She motivates, acknowledges and empowers students, volunteers and staff to be part of the change they want to see in the world. An avid believer in the principles of transformative community justice, she values building safer communities through collaborative knowledge sharing, idea and process formulation and implementation.

Maria is a graduate of George Brown College’s HR Management Diploma Program. Currently she is completing her BAA in Justice Studies at the University of Guelph-Humber.

The vision of The Gatehouse and the restoration of this house was the creation of one man. Arthur Raymond Lockhart inspired many people with his idea to reach out to survivors of child abuse within this community. His vision is to give all survivors a place to tell their stories, to give them back their voices, to heal their wounds and to inspire them to see their own potential. This house is dedicated to this vision and this community. The Gatehouse, built in the 1890s, was the original doctor's house for the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital. Abandoned for over 30 years, this building holds an important history in the Lakeshore area. Through the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and corporations, this abandoned historic building was completely renovated and carefully restored. A major renovation valued at over $300,000 was completed for under $30,000 because of the incredible support we received from our community.

The Gatehouse started its operations on June 20, 1998 and since then the Gatehouse has helped thousands including children, youth and adults who have experienced childhood sexual abuse.