About us:
The idea for this workshop spawned from a project which sought to uncover the degree and pervasiveness of stress among university students. This project not only revealed an underlining issue for students but for a large number of people in Montreal as well. It was an issue of excessive burden, chronic life pressure and indeed loneliness.
The cost of living is higher, everyone you meet is either working 1 or 2 jobs, having a side gig/side hustle is extremely common. The stress of having to support ourselves while finding the time for leisurely and healthy activities can be overbearing. But the average person has 100+ waking hours in a week, but for so many it still feels like there's never enough time for anything. However there is always time in a week, even if you work 70 hours, but it can seem overwhelming, but only because of the pressure and the constant stress of everything we have to do, it consumes our peace of mind, it consumes our ability to think clearly.
We created this organization in order to host a space, for those who are excessively stressed, but also for those who are looking to have pleasant conversations over their favorite beverages. To connect people's experiences, so someone who has overcome a difficult life situation can share their experience to those who are currently undergoing a similar situation. We also host meaningful conversations, guided by mental health professionals, for all people. Because this organization is about creating spaces for connection and mental well being.
Our name "Yume" translates to dream in Japanese, while sounding like "you me" to an English speaker. It organically captures the idea of how sharing our differences in languages, ideas, inner states and cultures can unexpectedly combine to create new and beautiful things.
Often times all we need is a way to look at our problems from a different angle, and one of the best ways to do this is by sharing our experiences with others. It also may encapsulate the idea of us dreaming together. That sharing dreams can be difficult, but if we can manage to share our dreams together, perhaps we can dream up a better world for each other.
Our dream:
We create these workshops as a catalyst for meaningful discussion, social discussion and mental health. By giving people an opportunity to safely vent, share ideas and feel a sense of connection with others while under the guidance of a mental health professional. We hope to make these spaces warm and comfortable by partnering with local cafes, libraries and more private settings, while giving you an opportunity to choose from a variety of topics.
The world can seem like a lonely place sometimes, especially as we get older and life continues to demand more from us with what seems to be little regard for how much we actually have to give. It may feel as though we slowly forget what its like to live, for humans are social creatures, and we are so heavily reliant on each others company. Sometimes all it takes is that sense of connection, that sense of belonging. For us, we made it our goal to strive to improve the social backbone of our home. We envision a city in which this sense of belonging and social connection is as available as the air we breath, because we believe that is what all people deserve. We cannot do this alone of course, but hopefully these workshops might be a small step in the right direction in helping others find their sense of community as well as a sense of inner peace.
We plan on hosting many workshops, and whether they are deep discussions on mental health or discussions revolving around lighter subjects, we hope to make each and every one of them meaningful and beneficial. We would like to have these workshops be as diverse as possible, even just to help people share their ideas for business or academic purposes, anything.
Remember, our limitations should only ever be the extent of our imaginations.