Founded in 1964 on the edge of St. James Town at 615 Ontario Street, the Christian Resource Centre was launched by people associated with the Rosedale United Church who felt they needed more community involvement. At first setting up a youth drop-in Centre, its location near the hotly contested St. James Town neighbourhood drew the CRC increasingly toward tenant issues. In the 1970s the CRC moved to 297 Carlton Street but continued to advocate for poor and at risk people, founding their Springboard volunteer program which helped prisoners transition back into their communities after being released. They also produced research about rooming houses and their occupants in an effort to influence policy makers into improving housing conditions.

Christian Resource Centre, "Springboard' to aid Convicts," (7 News, May 29 1970).

Jeanette Keating, "Rooming House Tenant Project," Report by Toronto Christian Resource Centre (1979)

Kevin Brushett, "Blots on the Face of the City: The Politics of Slum Housing and Urban Renewal in Toronto 1940-1970" (PhD diss., Queen's University, 2001)