ABL was founded in 2009 by people who believed they could and should change the world!

As GPs and former teachers we had first-hand experience of public services that had failed people, people who needed them most and we believed that we could provide a different, more flexible approach. We wanted to combine our expertise in healthcare and education and our experiences of the social and economic problems that held people back and find a way to support and empower people to live healthier, better lives whatever their background.

We knew that if we put people at the heart of our services, stepped in their shoes and experienced life from their perspective then we could start to create a new approach to healthcare.

We started by taking our services out in to communities, by making them accessible and removing the traditional clinical surroundings and approach. We worked to make them engaging and responsive, constantly changing our approach and listening to the people and communities we were working with. We tried things, rejected them and tried again knowing that a truly responsive community healthcare system had to constantly question and adapt.

We came to understand that what worked best was a multi-disciplinary approach, that by creating a shared language with a range of professionals from varied backgrounds we could support the whole person within the context of their own lives and empower them to really make a difference within their community.

To this day we still feel this way and we are working not only to design and develop services that treat and support people who are experiencing health problems now, but are dreaming up and creating effective ways that we can educate and empower people to eliminate health issues in the future.

We still believe we can change the world. We still believe we all deserve ‘a better life’.