The manifesto
We refuse to believe that growing old means giving up your freedom.
Some revolutions change the world. And then there are the quiet ones — the revolutions that change a single life at a time.
Some revolutions are quiet ones.
Some revolutions transform the way we communicate. Others the way we travel. Some redefine commerce. And then there are the ones that change a single life at a time.
heysimone was born to lead one of them.
We refuse to accept that in Quebec, thousands of families live every day with the dread of not finding the help their loved ones need.
We refuse to accept that family caregivers wear themselves down until nothing is left for themselves.
We refuse to accept that someone must leave their home simply because they could not find a single person to come and help a few hours a week.
We refuse to believe that this is simply how things must be.
We believe it is a problem to be solved. And problems exist to be solved.
A home is not four walls.
A home is where a life took place.
It is where children grew up. Where birthdays were celebrated. Where couples loved each other. Where you know the sound of the floor, the light of the morning.
Leaving your home is not simply changing address. Sometimes it means leaving a part of who you are behind.
At heysimone, we believe every month spent at home is a victory, and every year gained is a gift.
We believe in the power of people.
Technology is extraordinary. But it will never hold an elderly person’s hand.
It will never share a coffee. It will never notice that someone seems sadder today than yesterday. It will never replace a kind look.
Technology will not replace people. It will simply let more people take care of one another.
At heysimone, technology works for people, never the other way around.
We want to create supply where everyone else sees only shortages.
For years we have been told there is a labour shortage. We would rather ask a different question.
What if thousands of people wanted to help, and no system made it easy for them to do so?
We are thinking of students.
Of the semi-retired and the actively retired.
Of workers who would gladly give a few hours a week.
Of people who want to give back to their community.
We do not want to move workers around. We want to reveal thousands of new ones.
Because human potential is immense once you remove the barriers.
We believe that caring for others deserves better.
The people who support our parents, our grandparents and our neighbours do one of the most valuable jobs in our society.
And yet they are too often underpaid. Underestimated. Invisible.
We want to change that.
Because when a society values those who care for others, it becomes stronger. More human. More united.
We want to lift an immense weight off families’ shoulders.
Millions of adult children live with a constant worry. They look at their phone with a small flinch.
They wonder whether their mother ate properly. Whether their father has fallen. Whether they should have visited more often. They feel guilty, even when they are already doing everything they can.
Not enough time. Distance. Work. Children. Life.
No one should carry that weight alone.
heysimone will never take away a child’s love, but we can take away part of their worry. And sometimes, that changes everything.
We want to give family caregivers room to breathe.
Family caregivers are among the quietest heroes in our society.
They give. They accompany. They organize. They reassure. They forget themselves.
They hold on until the day they cannot hold on any longer.
We want to give them their time back.
A few hours. An evening. A weekend. The right to catch their breath without feeling guilty.
Caring for a loved one should never mean losing your own life.
We believe a company can succeed differently.
Success is not measured in revenue alone. It is also measured in lives made better.
In family caregivers given relief.
In seniors who stay in their own home one more year.
In students who pay for their studies.
In retirees who find an active role again.
In families who finally sleep with an easy mind.
If our growth improves all of those lives, then we will have succeeded.
We believe in Quebec.
Quebec has one of the most united societies in the world. We have always chosen to innovate when the challenges looked too big.
An ageing population will be one of the greatest challenges of our generation.
We want Quebec to become the world’s reference for solutions that let people age better at home.
Why not here? Why not now?
We want to build a movement.
We do not only want to build a company. We want to build a movement.
A movement where thousands of citizens decide that helping someone a few hours a week can transform a life.
A movement where technology brings people closer together.
A movement where independence becomes a right rather than a privilege.
A movement where we stop seeing ageing as a problem and start seeing it as a collective responsibility.
We make a promise.
We promise to always put people before algorithms.
Trust before growth.
Impact before appearances.
Dignity before speed.
Every decision we make will have to make life a little simpler for someone. Otherwise it does not deserve to be made.
Five to ten years from now…
We hope that hundreds of thousands of Quebecers will have gone on living in their own homes thanks to heysimone.
That tens of thousands of providers will have found flexible, rewarding and deeply human work.
That thousands of family caregivers will have found a little freedom again.
That children will have been able to go back to simply being children, rather than crisis managers.
And that one day, when someone asks how Quebec managed to transform home care, part of the answer will be a simple one.
Citizens decided to do things differently. They chose trust over complexity. They chose people over process. They chose to act.
That decision now has a name.
heysimoneBecause independence has no age. Because everyone deserves to live in their own home for as long as they wish. And because caring for others is probably the greatest thing a society can do.