UforU started with a question: Could we stimulate adults’ brains with yummy, nourishing knowledge, other than with alcohol and drugs? In that hour, could we help people un-learn an unproductive thought, habit or routine and (re)learn at least one thing?
So much of being on the streets involves trying to get basic needs met. And yet food, shelter, detox beds, medical care, legal advice doesn’t always quell the bigger human appetite – to understand one’s condition, to experience something beautiful, to gain a fresh perspective, to entertain thoughts, ideas, aspirations, goals.
UforU gives space to these bigger, existential questions in the spaces street-involved adults already congregate. It’s a platform for academics, practitioners, and street-involved adults themselves to curate discussions across a range of topics – from philosophy to mindfulness to mathematics to film-making to stand-up comedy. It’s an incentive system for street-involved adults to invest in their minds, and earn more enriching experiences, the more they attend. And, in the future, we hope it might serve to broker street-involved adults to other courses, groups, and individuals (like grad students or retirees) that can take curiosities further.
So, thanks for joining us as we further develop UforU so that it’s more than a series of events, but is a route to dis-engaging and re-engaging parts of the mind.
Toronto IN/OUT 