Ontario alone has 60,000 community programs and services in databases like 211 - systems that don't understand your context and don't remember your last search.
We know that broken search isn't the hardest part of frontline work. But it's a part we can do something about.
That's what Lemy is for. Lemy is an AI-powered resource discovery widget that embeds inside the tools frontline workers already use. One search bar. Natural language. Results in seconds. No new system to learn.
It does two things that nothing else in this space does:
Lemy understands natural language, context, and the relationships between services, people, and needs ("Mandarin-speaking walk-in support for a senior veteran") returns relevant matches even if no database has that combination of filters.
Experienced frontline workers carry knowledge no database holds. When those workers leave, everything they know leaves with them. Lemy captures that knowledge as a byproduct of daily work - one-tap signals, AI-generated annotations and anonymized referral signals from case management systems. Individual expertise becomes organizational memory.
Every search, every referral, every annotation generates data the sector has not had - what communities need, where the gaps are, which services actually deliver - with no extra data entry. The intelligence is a byproduct of the work.
nuAmple believes the people doing the hardest work in our communities deserve more than what the sector has been able to give them.
John Rademaker — Founder & CEO. Tech startup CEO: Four funded, one IPO (Wall Street CEO with NASDAQ:SYNX). A path through addiction and recovery — including jail, rehabs, and volunteer work in prison, locked psychiatric wards, recovery facilities, and youth programs — made connection to the communities this project serves.
Georgia Mackenzie-MacPherson — EC Product Manager. Entrepreneur with deep nonprofit sector experience and a deft instinct for community engagement. Principal at MacMac, and designer of the initial Everyday Connect.
Jimmy Yim (Miydesign) — Design Studio. Leading Lemy's visual design and brand identity.
CG Chen — Founding Advisor. 3x Founder, YC alum. Founded Ample Labs in 2018. Built Canada's first conversational AI for homeless services. Created the foundation nuAmple is built on.
Geordie Graham — Board. 2x founder, YC alum. Co-founded Ample Labs. Product and user experience, thought leader in UXR.
Kay Taylor — Board. Organizational leader and consultant, MBA, specializing in personal development and transformational practice.
Lemy (Let me... help you) is a portable AI widget for any website, portal, or case management system. Workers click "Ask Lemy," describe what they need in plain language, and get relevant results immediately. Context retained across queries - no starting over.
211 has the most useful information — eligibility, intake procedures, languages, practical notes — buried in unstructured text. Lemy understands intent through context and meaning, not keywords. ("Mandarin-speaking walk-in support for a senior veteran") returns relevant matches even if no database has that combination of filters.
Workers contribute lore through the lightest possible friction: one-tap referral signals, AI-generated annotation options they confirm with a tap, and free-text notes when they choose. The system also captures anonymized referral patterns from case management systems.
One frontline worker told us: "Workers don't so much keep lists of services. They keep lists of people who respond." Lemy makes that knowledge shareable. Individual expertise becomes organizational memory.
Searches, referrals, and annotations generate data as a byproduct of the workflow. No extra data entry. Over time: what communities need, where the gaps are, which referrals connect.
For the PoC, Lemy deploys inside Everyday Connect, Homeless Connect Toronto's resource portal — 13 years of community credibility, an established user base across the GTA.
For HCT and its partners, the immediate result is a more capable Everyday Connect — 60,000+ more listings, with knowledge capture and activity tracking that EC has never had.
Lemy is portable. What we prove inside EC can go anywhere.
The proof of concept validates the foundation — semantic search and lore capture with real frontline workers. What comes next builds on that foundation.
Introduces GenUI, adapting to each worker's context, role, and search history. Evolves from static search into a dynamic learning tool.
An anonymized referral signal from internal case management notes will reveal patterns of service usage and gaps - valuable data previously unseen.
Building on Phase 2, Lemy will aggregate referral data across organizations to create a living map of community needs and service ecosystems.
This gives funders, planners, and policymakers actionable data, moving beyond guesswork to inform strategic decisions that address societal challenges.
Frontline workers hold communities together, sitting with people during some of the hardest moments in their lives. They listen, search for help, make referrals they hope will land. Nobody captures what they know. When they leave, it leaves with them.
The systems they depend on weren't built for them. Every minute lost to a broken system is a minute not connected with the person in front of them.
nuAmple gives workers time back and captures the knowledge that would otherwise disappear. We're not a vendor, but a coalition of technologists, nonprofit leaders, frontline professionals, and donors offering no-cost public infrastructure for the people who serve.
We work with communities, not for them. Every partnership starts with listening.
Technology is the tool. The person across the table is the point. We build to deepen connection, not to add complexity.
The workers doing the hardest work have the least access to good technology. We're here to change that.
Frontline workers shape what we make. If it doesn't work in their hands, it doesn't work.
Every city has frontline workers navigating fragmented systems. Most have 211. If this works in Toronto, the model is portable. We're just trying to find out what works.
Finding out takes a proof of concept. A PoC takes resources.
Roughly $50,000 for Phase 1: build Lemy, deploy inside Everyday Connect, measure results, publish findings.
We are willing to earn our way with meaningful accomplishment. Success at each stage will justify the funding of the following.
We publish regardless of outcome.
Deploy with real workers. Measure what happens. Publish findings.
Contingent on PoC results. Adaptive interfaces, case management integration, org adoption beyond the pilot.
The Community Intelligence Infrastructure. Referral patterns available to funders and planners. Earned revenue through analytics sustains the free frontline tool.
The problem is harder than assumed. We publish what we find. Sector gains data it didn't have.
Lemy improves search quality. Fits workflow. Evidence supports expansion.
Organizations beyond the pilot want in. New platforms. New cities.
$50,000 funds the proof of concept. $1,000 funds a week of frontline research. Every contribution moves this forward. nuample.org/support
Collaborate with us during development. Show us what you need. Test what we build. Give us honest feedback.
Watch the work. Review the findings. Assess whether this model works in your context.
Hold us accountable for results, not promises. We publish regardless of outcome. Judge us on execution.
Better technology won't solve homelessness. But it can make sure that when someone asks for help, the person they've reached has the time to listen.
john@nuample.org — If any of this is relevant to your work, we'd welcome a conversation.
Contact us