Just two months into 2025, a report from Modern Health found that stress levels were surging among American workers. Some 75% of them are grappling with low moods while 74% think they need mental health resources because of the general turmoil roiling the world. A large percentage of people surveyed even suggested that their lives were better during the pandemic. These findings are fairly consistent with data points that came in the previous year from the American Psychiatric Association, which found that anxiety levels were rising from the East Coast to the West, particularly because of gun violence, political tension and a stagnant economy.

In other words, a lot of Americans still feel like they’re on the verge of unbuckling.

One person deeply concerned about this nervous zeitgeist is jesikah maria ross, a media artist who’s worked for Capital Public Radio, Davis Community Television and a host of other outlets from WNYC to Radio Netherlands.

Ross, a Davis resident, wanted to play some small but meaningful role in easing tensions around the Capital Region. She started working through what she might do, in terms of throwing an event. She wrote down the following reflections to herself.

“Divisive politics, climate catastrophes, racial divides, post-pandemic stay-at-home habits … so much over the past few years has kept us isolated, overwhelmed and disconnected with each other,” ross noted. “Many of us are hesitant to get together, less motivated to try new things, depressed by the state of the world and deprived of face-to-face community building.”

After dwelling on these challenges, ross came up with a get-together called Hope Café.

She held the first one on April 29 at International House Davis.

On Tuesday, Hope Café’s second time out saw just as many people showing up — and SN&R was present for the festivities.

Those arriving stepped into an outdoor, garden-like setting with terrace lights glowing from the oak trees to I House’s marvelous mid-century architecture. The vibe was accentuated by a performance of calm Celtic-folk tunes from Carol Hillhouse and Steve Shoenig. The sounds, sights and appetizers all set a tone of total relaxation.

Shelly Gilbride, Executive Director for International House Davis, said the stately structure hosting the event was built in the late 1930s. Later, Shunta Yamamoto gifted this house to a nonprofit, mainly because he wanted to see it become a center for international learning. Now, for over 40 years, the grounds are a hub for cultural exchange and global connection.

Ross saw International House Davis as a perfect partner — and setting — for what she had in mind with Hope Café.

Attendees entered its backyard and were ushered to tables where they were randomly seated around people they didn’t know.

“I’ve just noticed how people are feeling really down right now,” ross told the assembly. “I thought, ‘Well, I can bring people together to build community and positivity.’ And that’s what tonight is about.”

She added, “We have folks from all different walks of life here tonight.”

The evening got underway with poet Vincent Kobel taking the podium.

“Poetry is, to me, like getting medicine and sharing that medicine,” Kobel told the crowd before entrancing it with two sets of verses, one connective and the other imagistic.

From there, various activities commenced to get strangers sharing their feelings and experiences with one another. Many of these dialogs progressed to enlightening, often empathetic, conversations that lasted on and off throughout the night.

Those attending the second Hope Café were indeed diverse: therapists, EMTs, nonprofit workers, writing professors, artists, college students and retirees were all on hand.

One table of newly discovered friends decided, jointly, that they felt the event was “stoking the bond fire of community hope.”

For information on the next Hope Cafe, follow jesikah maria ross on Instagram at @jmr_MediaSpark.