L’Alternative offers four annual program cycles featuring diverse workshops under the following themes:
– Education: Focused on building social skills and increasing knowledge around topics like sexuality and nutrition. Activities include cooking classes, wellness sessions, and sexuality discussion cafés.
– Mutual Support: Support groups where members can share emotions and lived experiences, and develop tools to manage everyday challenges. Includes a dedicated voice-hearers group.
– Creativity: Activities promoting openness and self-expression through improvisation, visual arts, and collaborative projects.
– Leisure: Recreational programming designed to reduce isolation and promote joy and connection—such as bingo, movie nights, group singing, and music cafés.
Here is a description of the volunteer cooperative:
To enable people who identify as having mental health challenges the opportunity to get involved in meaningful ways, supported by a staff facilitator.
– Volunteer Positions: Housekeeping, reception, vending machine refills, occasional work (administrative work, shovelling, weeding, cleaning, setting up rooms, etc.)
– Collective Project: Members can co-develop community initiatives in three areas:
- Raising awareness about mental health
- Promoting l’Alternative
- Exploring entrepreneurship through income-generating projects
Examples include: producing a community newspaper, organizing a fundraising campaign, painting a mural, or making and selling handmade products.
Several other activities are offered to members throughout the year:
Special events (e.g., Christmas party, corn roast, sugar shack outings)
Invitations to join staff for lunch from 12:00–1:00 p.m. on Tuesday to Thursday, and from 12:30 p.m. on Mondays
Please note: The center is not accessible to individuals using walkers or wheelchairs.