Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services

Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services Toronto's community health centre serving new immigrants, refugees and their families. The account is not monitored 7/24. Do not message for appointments.

For service inquiries, pls use the contact forms on our website: https://accessalliance.ca/ Access Alliance's range of programs, services, advocacy and partnerships address medical, social, economic, environmental, settlement and integration issues for immigrants of all ages at all stages of their life. We are a leader in community-based research and advocacy on issues related to the determinants of health and wellbeing and increasing access to services for marginalized groups. We actively seek to break down silos and build linkages with other agencies to increase access to the services needed by immigrants and refugees. Access Alliance also operates a fee-for-service interpretation and translation service employing a network of professionals who provide quality services in more than 200 languages. The Facebook account is not monitored 24/7. For servics please call or use our website contact form. Please do not use Messenger for appointments.

✨ Sneak peek: What you’ll find on the Arts for Family Health website ✨We’re excited to offer a glimpse into some of the ...
01/14/2026

✨ Sneak peek: What you’ll find on the Arts for Family Health website ✨

We’re excited to offer a glimpse into some of the key features our new Access Alliance Arts for Family Health website designed to support professionals working in the arts, settlement, and healthcare fields, creating learning, practice, and connection across sectors:

🎨 Resource Hub: Whether you are a manager, researcher, or frontline practitioner working with newcomers, this hub is designed for you.

It offers practical, accessible, and evidence-informed tools tailored to different roles and needs.

🎨 Stories & Articles: Featuring participant testimonials, arts in health articles, and recent and related news. Participant voices are central, sharing lived experiences and cultural knowledge that shape the Hub, while short articles offer learning moments that highlight creative and healing work in our communities.

More to come! Stay tuned as we continue sharing what this space has to offer.
Join us next week for a walk-through webinar— register now!: https://kh-cdc-ca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qEsL1j55SQ2VROFBdH23OQ #/

Thank you to our generous community of Holiday Hamper 2025 sponsors and donors! With your support, staff and volunteers ...
01/08/2026

Thank you to our generous community of Holiday Hamper 2025 sponsors and donors! With your support, staff and volunteers organized and delivered a total of 101 hampers full of food, warm clothing, toiletries and gifts for kids. These hampers brought holiday cheer to 178 adults and 218 children in our community.

In addition to our many supportive individual sponsors, we’d specifically like to thank Carolyn Griffis & her RE/MAX team, Agnostic, Parkview BMW, Nationwide Appraisal Services, Waugh Family Foundation, Hyatt Foundation, Quality Move Management Inc., Rotary Club of East York Charitable Trust, The Royal Canadian Legion, Refine Group Ltd, Pomp & Circumstance PR, and Cascades Canada ULC for their generous donations.

With your help, the holidays were made brighter for so many families. We are grateful for your commitment to community, and wish you all the happiest of new years!

✨ Behind the scenes: Co-creating arts for family health ✨As we get closer to the launch of our new Access Alliance Arts ...
01/08/2026

✨ Behind the scenes: Co-creating arts for family health ✨

As we get closer to the launch of our new Access Alliance Arts for Family Health website, we want to honour the process that made it possible. This platform was built through deep collaboration and co-creation every step of the way.

✨The site was shaped with and by practitioners, peer researchers, community members, graphic designers, web developers, community artists, arts-based practitioners, photographers, videographers, volunteers, and placement students. Everyone brought us their unique skills, lived experience, and creativity.

🎨 By working across roles and disciplines, we created and curated resources that are practical, accessible, and grounded in real community needs. Co-creation helps ensure that tools are not only usable, but also reflective of the cultures, stories, and strengths of newcomer communities.

This process reminds us that meaningful community resources are strongest when they are built together with care, shared ownership, and respect for lived experience.

We’re deeply grateful to everyone who contributed their time, thoughtfulness, and wisdom to this work. Stay tuned for the webinar on January 21, 2026 from 1 – 1:30 pm, following an official launch.

✨ We’re excited to share what we’ve been working on! ✨Interested in how we’re advancing arts integration in healthcare a...
01/05/2026

✨ We’re excited to share what we’ve been working on! ✨

Interested in how we’re advancing arts integration in healthcare and settlement? This past year, Access Alliance has been curating a new Access Alliance Arts for Family Health website, and we’re thrilled to reveal in 2026!

The site provides useful information for practitioners, managers, researchers, and academics who want to integrate or explore creative methods in their work.

✨This new knowledge platform, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, grew out of the Hubs of Expressive Arts for Life (HEAL) project. HEAL explored how expressive arts practices can support the mental health and well-being of newcomer individuals, families, and communities.

For the past two decades, Access Alliance has witnessed the transformative power of the arts in supporting better health outcomes and meaningful settlement experiences for newcomers. Through arts-based approaches, we are reimagining how families access care, centering culture, creativity, healing, and belonging.

🎨 The website brings together resources, stories, and practical tools that highlight how expressive arts can strengthen mental health, family well-being, and community connection across healthcare and settlement settings.

Join us in learning how to shape more inclusive, creative systems of support for newcomer communities through the arts! Stay tuned for the webinar on January 21, 2025 from 1 – 1:30 pm, following an official launch.

01/01/2026

⭐️🎉Happy 2026 to our Access Alliance community!

As we reflect on 2025, we’re grateful for all we accomplished together— a diverse range of programs, healthcare services, and lively community events. We’re eagerly anticipating a bright and busy year ahead.

In 2026 we’ll actively explore new programming, expand our spaces and service offerings, and build partnerships and knowledge. We’ll continue to lean into equity, access, engagement and attachment as we work to improve health outcomes, bridge system gaps, and advance health equity.

Thank you for your continued trust and collaboration. We look forward to navigating the year ahead with you at our side, as we move towards a healthier, more inclusive future.

🔔 We have holiday hours! 🔔⭐ All our offices and clinics will be closed Dec. 25 & Jan. 1. ⭐ Our Danforth location will be...
12/22/2025

🔔 We have holiday hours! 🔔

⭐ All our offices and clinics will be closed Dec. 25 & Jan. 1.
⭐ Our Danforth location will be closed Dec. 27 & Jan. 3.
⭐ We're open Dec. 24 & 31 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, and Dec. 26 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

We'll resume regular hours on Jan. 5. Have a safe and happy holiday!

12/16/2025

🌟 We love celebrating with you! 🌟

❄️ Earlier this month, Access Alliance community members, volunteers, and staff gathered in our east and west locations to celebrate the holiday season, together. On Dec. 4 at AccessPoint on Jane, a total of 194 attendees feasted on delicious chicken and vegan meals. Activities included lantern-making, expressive arts activities and our ever-popular family photo booth.

⛄️ On Dec. 9 our AccessPoint on Danforth holiday dinner was a cheerful event, with songs, holiday-themed activities, and a visit from a larger-than-life gingerbread man. Volunteers from BMO stepped in to support with check-ins, raffle tickets, and food service for over 320 attendees.

⭐️ Our hard-working community volunteers supported both events with their usual kindness and creativity, setting up, preparing food, and decorating our spaces beautifully.

❤️ A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make these two events so warm and welcoming. We’re grateful for our many supporters, partners, and sponsors, including EYET, Coach, 8 80 Cities, and Daily Bread Food Bank, and for our community members who are so much fun to celebrate with. Happy holidays to you all!

🎨 The journey continues.We’ve reached the end of this year’s , but healing through the arts is just beginning! Over the...
12/10/2025

🎨 The journey continues.

We’ve reached the end of this year’s , but healing through the arts is just beginning! Over the past two weeks, we’ve explored how creative expression helps newcomer families heal from trauma, build resilience, and foster meaningful connections.

🧡 Introducing the Arts Hub:

We’re excited to share what’s next: Access Alliance Arts for Family Health, a brand-new online resource featuring art-based activities, workshops, and tools to support healing and wellbeing in newcomer communities.

✨ Why it matters:

This hub will be a space for newcomer families, community leaders, and service providers to connect, learn, and integrate the arts into their settlement and healing journeys.

👉🏽 Keep following us into the new year for more info on this great new initiative!

🧡 As we honour , we're reminded of how sustainable art programs benefit individuals and communities impacted by gender-...
12/08/2025

🧡 As we honour , we're reminded of how sustainable art programs benefit individuals and communities impacted by gender-based violence (GBV).

In sharing insights into what's needed to grow and maintain expressive arts programs, Roxanna Vahed points out that:

✨ Creative spaces spark healing.
When personal experiences are held in safe, supported, creative environments, they can become catalysts for healing. For survivors of GBV, creative expression can transform pain into insight and voice.

✨ Being seen matters.
The arts can help survivors of GBV share parts of themselves that are often ignored or misunderstood. Being witnessed in this way restores dignity, agency, and self-worth. This is a vital steps towards healing after violence.

✨ Support ripples outward.
When we offer art-focused support for trauma healing, people go home with fuller hearts and communities grow stronger. For those impacted by GBV, these shifts are life-changing. Creative support strengthens entire family systems and helps build safer, more connected communities.

Follow us this week for more on how we're taking action with art to support newcomer survivors of gender-based violence.

12/04/2025

🌶️ What do garden stewards do when faced with 10 lbs of hot peppers? They make hot pepper relish! 🌶️

Our amazing volunteer garden stewards spent their Saturday picking peppers on our rooftop garden, then canning a simple and delicious relish. The peppers were cultivated by the stewards and shared with our community over the summer, but even as the weather cools, they keep on giving!

The hot pepper relish will be shared with our community dining program to be eaten over the winter months, and each garden steward got a jar to take home.

Thank you to our hardworking garden stewards! Even as the snow starts to fall, these peppers will continue to grow and give warmth to community meals.

Learn more about our Green Access program and our rooftop garden here: https://accessalliance.ca/programs-services/green-access-program/

🧡 As we honour , we're reminded of how expressive arts can spark transformation from the individual level all the way t...
12/04/2025

🧡 As we honour , we're reminded of how expressive arts can spark transformation from the individual level all the way to policy and systems change.

Andrea Charise shares her thoughts on the need to build and maintain sustainable arts practices:

✨ Sustainability builds legacy.
Sustainability in arts-based healing isn’t only about program continuation, it’s about legacy. It means ensuring that expressive arts, storytelling, and community-led creative practices remain visible, accessible, and valued throughout the year.

✨ Digital tools extend impact.
Sustainability also includes exploring opportunities for digital archiving, so the work can be preserved, shared, and learned from across communities and generations.

✨ Artists are essential.
As expressive arts continue to integrate into health care and community support systems, one principle must be upheld: artists are vital members of these teams, contributing expertise, creativity, and healing to survivor-centered practices.

Follow us for more expert ideas on how and why expressive arts programming can support better health care for newcomer survivors of gender-based violence.

Address

340 College Street, Suite 500; 3079 Danforth Ave; 761 Jane Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON
M5T3A9

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 1pm - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+14163248677

Website

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