A whole new way of being.
Not the version they wanted. Not the version that fits.
The actual, unedited, irreplaceable you.
Maybe it was grade school. Maybe it was the family dinner table. Maybe it was the job interview or the first date or the moment you realised that the real version of you made other people uncomfortable. The mask wasn't a choice exactly. It was survival. And then it became habit. And then it became you. Or what everyone else thinks is you.
Curated for every room. Calibrated for every audience. Exhausting to maintain. Impossible to sustain. You perform until you forget what the real version of you even feels like.
The opinion you didn't voice. The art you didn't make. The laugh you suppressed. The need you didn't name. A whole interior life slowly going quiet because no one was listening anyway.
Sanding your edges to fit the shape of what's expected. The mould was made before you arrived and has nothing to do with who you actually are. You fit it anyway because the alternative felt impossible.
Making yourself smaller so others feel larger. Dimming something in you to avoid the discomfort of being seen. The world trained you to take up less space. That training was wrong.
"There is no correct version of you.
There is only you — unedited, unperformed,
undiminished. That version is not a problem
to fix. It is the whole point."
Yerself is a Canadian non-profit built on one radical premise: authenticity is not a personality trait. It is a right. And it is being systematically eroded by every system that rewards performance and punishes realness.
We work with young people, communities, and institutions to create the conditions where people stop performing and start being. Where the real version — complicated, unfinished, wildly themselves — is not just tolerated but celebrated.
Not the version that fits. The version that is.
Each program built on the same foundation: you are not the problem. The expectation was the problem. Always was.
In-school workshops and year-long cohort programs that teach young people to identify the masks they're wearing, understand where they came from, and practice — safely, in community — what it feels like to set them down. Not a one-day assembly. A sustained practice of becoming.
A facilitated community space — physical and virtual — where adults who have spent decades performing can exhale. Weekly circles. No agenda except honesty. No expectations except showing up as you actually are. Not as you should be. Not as you used to be. Right now, exactly this.
Partnering with forward-thinking employers to audit the hidden performance tax in their organisations — the energy drain of everyone pretending — and build cultures where people can actually be themselves. Because the most expensive thing a workplace can have is a room full of people wearing masks.
Yerself is actively seeking grant partnerships with foundations and government programs aligned with our mission. We are a lean, focused organisation with a clear theory of change, measurable community impact, and a commitment to transparent reporting. If you fund mental health, youth development, inclusion, or workplace wellbeing — we should talk.
OTF's Grow funding supports organizations scaling proven programs across Ontario communities. Yerself In Schools is a direct fit for community wellbeing and youth mental health outcomes.
PHAC's youth mental health streams fund community-based programs with measurable outcomes. Our cohort model produces documented wellbeing improvements aligned with PHAC's priority metrics.
Bell's community fund supports mental health programs with demonstrated reach. The Real Room program's ongoing adult circles are directly aligned with Bell's destigmatisation and community care mandate.
CWF funds programs that build confidence and safety for girls and gender-diverse young people. Our school cohort data shows outsized impact for participants who identify as marginalised by gender norms.
Wage subsidies for hiring young Canadians in meaningful roles. Yerself plans to hire youth facilitators and program coordinators — this funding builds both our capacity and their careers simultaneously.
The Laidlaw Foundation has a deep history funding youth voice and wellbeing in Ontario. Yerself's community-led model and emphasis on amplifying rather than fixing young people is philosophically aligned.
"I spent twenty years being exactly what the room needed and somewhere in there I lost complete track of what I actually wanted. Not in a crisis way. In a slow-leak way. The most frightening kind."
"The first time a facilitator said 'you don't have to explain yourself to us' I literally cried. I didn't know that was an option. I'd been explaining myself my whole life."
"Our people were brilliant and exhausted in equal measure. The exhaustion was the performance. When we took that off the table the work got better almost immediately. The numbers shocked us."
Every dollar funds the conditions where someone stops performing and starts being. That is not abstract. That is a life changed. Possibly saved.
Whether you're a funder, a school, an employer, or someone who read this and felt something shift — we want to hear from you. There is no wrong reason to reach out.
hello@yerself.org