Our Story

ALAB was formed during the 2020 summer protests for racial justice and police abolition. While involved in grassroots activism in Toronto our founders began helping a few community members with legal and social support. These experiences showed our growing group that there was a widespread need for accessible street-level peer support. Our practice prioritizes individuals who have found other legal and social assistance resources inaccessible for any reason including housing situation, location in the city, lack of phone or internet access, and accessibility needs. We will always strive to make sure our neighbours feel safe and listened to.

Our Principles of Care

Community Led: We believe that everyone is an expert in their own lives and their own needs. We will not push unwanted help. We may inform our clients of options available to them, but the next steps are up to them.

Mutual Aid: Our practice is informed by mutual aid practices. The people we support are our peers and friends, and are invited to provide feedback or work with our group. Our work is centred around collaboration and community building.

Accessibility: We work to break down barriers to people accessing care outside of and within our own organization. Barriers can exist due to a lack of resources such as phones or money, physical disability, mental health, and much more. We do our best to provide support for all in a mindful, flexible, and accessible way.

The Community Support Committee offers direct support and coordination of external services to our neighbours. Our most commonly offered services are listed and described on our Services page.