What to Expect at a Ready to Hope Workshop
Since we are a new organization, we still get tons of questions. We thought we’d take another opportunity to share what our workshops are all about!
First: The Mission Behind the Workshops:
Ready to Hope is a 501c3 non-profit designed to give young adults a chance to build connections and gain resources to support their mental wellness.
Workshops are meant to be attended whenever the individual desires. They can be attended on an ongoing basis, one time only, or simply when feeling stressed or overwhelmed and wanting a chance to connect, share what is on your heart, and seek some tools and resources.
Before the Workshop:
Registration. Individuals must register for workshops so that we can be sure we have materials and food for everyone. While we are a non-profit, there is a nominal fee for workshops to help offset the costs of renting a space and purchasing food and materials.
If the cost of a workshop is prohibitive, please reach out to us via email here! We do offer scholarships and never want cost to be a deterrent!
Pre-workshop survey. Because we want to be sure that the workshops meet the needs of the individuals attending, we send out a pre-workshop survey. In that survey we give you the chance to share if you have anything specific you want to discuss.
During the Workshop:
First, a meal and some ice breakers. We want to give everyone a chance to get comfortable and ease in! So each workshop begins with some yummy food and hopefully fun (and maybe silly) ice breakers.
Next up: confidentiality and group norms. We want you to feel safe to share and know that what you share won’t become gossip ten minutes after the workshop ends. So we spend some time on what confidentiality looks like and everyone signs an agreement. We also discuss how to get the most out of the group experience, how to be sure everyone gets to share, and generally how to be respectful of all stories and viewpoints.
Discussion. The biggest portion of the workshop is discussion time. As mentioned, we send out a pre-workshop survey so that we can know ahead of time if there are any themes that we’d like to be sure get discussed. Is it finals time and there is a lot of academic stress? Are people struggling with their friendships or romantic relationships? Whatever we are presented with, that is the direction we will try to take the conversation, so that everyone gets a chance to feel seen and heard.
Discussions are led by the needs of the participants, with the adult facilitators helping guide and offering insights, suggestions, and assisting the group to be sure that all participate.
If the pre-workshop survey shows that no one really has any pressing issues, we have a curriculum we will pull from. There are several themes that we have discovered in our work that are common stressors young people (all people, really) face. We will always have something to discuss and can pull from any of those themes as we see fit!
Tools and resources. This is where we do our best to help you walk away feeling more empowered and capable of caring for your mental wellness! In each workshop we will discuss and practice at least one mental wellness resource or tool. These can include exercises like breathing techniques or guided meditation, journaling, or reframing.
After the Workshop:
One of the main goals of the workshops is that you leave feeling like you have created at least one new connection, and have someone you can reach out to the next time you just need a friend. So after the workshop, you can plan to attend another workshop, or you can simply plan to lean into your new tools and resources and connections.
Our wish is that you attend whenever you feel that you’d like the support, need to share something you’re struggling with, want to make some meaningful connections, or even if you just want to get out of the house! We are here for you!
Want to be sure you know when workshops are happening?
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