Let’s Unpack It

Let’s Unpack It A youth-led NGO working to make mental health a priority in the C’bean through advocacy & education. linktr.ee/letsunpackitco

What does it actually mean to ?This World Su***de Prevention Day, we think the answer has to go beyond simply telling p...
10/09/2026

What does it actually mean to ?

This World Su***de Prevention Day, we think the answer has to go beyond simply telling people to “check on your friends.”

Yes, sometimes starting the conversation begins with one person. It means noticing when someone you know just doesn’t seem like themselves, and having the courage to check in.

But starting the conversation is also bigger than one conversation between friends.

It means making conversations about mental health and su***de prevention normal at home, at school, at work, and throughout our communities.

It means having bigger conversations too.
With institutions. With healthcare professionals. With decision makers. Because “check on your friends” cannot be our whole su***de prevention plan.

We need to talk about policies and systems that help prevent su***de. We need to talk about social protection and safety nets. And we need talk about delivering mental health services that young people can actually afford, access and feel safe using.

So this ***dePreventionDay:

🫂 Start the conversation with your people.
🏡 Start the conversation in your community.
🏛️ Start the conversation with decision-makers.

🗣️ The conversation can start with any of us. So start where you are.

🛟 Download our How to CARE Guide and find more child and youth-centred mental health resources at the links in bio.

***dePrevention

A difficult conversation could very well save your friend’s life! 💛🧡Sometimes, that starts with two simple words: “You g...
08/09/2026

A difficult conversation could very well save your friend’s life! 💛🧡

Sometimes, that starts with two simple words: “You good?” But it can’t always end there.

This ***dePreventionAwarenessMonth, let’s be more intentional about showing up for our people. Check in. Ask again. Listen without judgement. Make space for the hard answer. And when needed, help them connect to additional support.

You don’t need to be a mental health professional or have the perfect words. Sometimes, you just need to care enough to .

📋 Throughout September, we’ll be sharing practical tools to help you look, listen, support and link.

🟡 Download our How to CARE Guide now, at the link in our bio, to learn the four steps you can take to CARE for a loved one who might be in crisis. (For screen readers: letsunpackitco.com/resources⁠.)

This week, check in on somebody. And don’t be afraid to ask again: “No, seriously. Are you good?”

🛟 If you or someone you know is struggling, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Find mental health support and youth-friendly resources at letsunpackitco.com/resources.

Over the past week, had the privilege of facilitating training for 400 Camp Assistants and Camp Directors ahead of the...
10/07/2026

Over the past week, had the privilege of facilitating training for 400 Camp Assistants and Camp Directors ahead of the national summer camp season.

Across 9 impactful workshops over 4 training days, our team worked with camp personnel to unpack what it truly means to lead, protect, and inspire our nation’s youth.

Together, we explored the core tenets of creating safe, supportive, and joyful camp environments: professionalism, safeguarding, classroom and behaviour management, conflict resolution, de-escalation, addressing emotional distress, and the power of trusted adults in shaping children’s lives.

This work builds on the strong partnership between Let’s Unpack It Inc. and the Division of Youth and Culture over the past few years. We are deeply grateful for the continued confidence placed in us, by the Division of Youth Affairs, PMO | Barbados team, to support the development and holistic wellbeing of Barbadian youth.

Special thanks to our incredible training team, led by our President, Dr. David Johnson (Dr. David Johnson | Social Impact & Wellness Strategist) and our Chief Implementation Officer, Mr. Kai Allman (Kai X. Allman), with support from our Board, Leadership Team, and volunteers. From curriculum development to delivery, they invested hours of thought, care, and energy, and training some days from 10AM to 7PM, to ensure these sessions were meaningful, practical, and impactful.

And now, we are excited to take summer camps by storm! 💛💪🏽

Over the coming weeks, we look forward to meeting campers across Barbados, teaching them about mental health, healthy coping strategies, emotional wellbeing, and the resources available to support them.

If you would like to partner with us this summer, whether through staff training, a mental health day, or bespoke mental health workshops at your camp, reach out to us at: bit.ly/workwithlui

Because every child deserves a camp experience where they feel safe, supported, seen, and inspired.

📣 Meet the voices behind the conversation.In just 2 days, we’re bringing together an incredible panel of leaders, advoca...
18/06/2026

📣 Meet the voices behind the conversation.

In just 2 days, we’re bringing together an incredible panel of leaders, advocates, and community builders for a timely youth-led discussion: “Where You Belong: Sustaining Community in an Individualistic World.”

Across the Caribbean and beyond, many of us are navigating a world that celebrates independence, but often leaves people feeling disconnected.

Yet community remains one of our greatest protective factors.

Together with our panelists and moderator, we’ll explore:
🌍 What community means in the Caribbean today
🤝 How we build stronger support systems
🏡 What it takes to create spaces of belonging
💬 How we activate collective care in our everyday lives
🌱 How we sustain community for the long term

This conversation comes at a critical time.

According to a CARICOM–UNICEF study, 1 in 2 Caribbean youth report struggling with their mental health, and 54% say they lack a reliable support system. Through conversations like these, we continue working toward a Caribbean where young people feel seen, supported, and connected.

Swipe through to meet the brilliant individuals helping guide this discussion ➡️

We’re so excited for you to join us! Deets below:

🗓 Saturday, June 20
🕕 6:00 PM AST
📍 Live on Zoom
🔗 Register now (Link in Bio!): bit.ly/luiwhereyoubelong

Help us spread the word! Tag someone who should be in this conversation 👇🏽

📣 Calling all mental health gatekeepers, health professionals, advocates, changemakers, youth leaders, and community bui...
12/06/2026

📣 Calling all mental health gatekeepers, health professionals, advocates, changemakers, youth leaders, and community builders across the Caribbean…

What does it mean to truly belong in a world that constantly tells us to do life alone?

Join us for “Where You Belong: Sustaining Community in an Individualistic World”, a powerful virtual youth-led conversation exploring how we rebuild connection and strengthen the communities that sustain us. 💛🌍

Together, we’ll unpack:
• What community means in the Caribbean today
• How we build stronger support systems
• How we nurture belonging
• How we activate collective care
• How we sustain community for the long term

Because the truth is: thriving was never meant to be a solo journey.

🗓 Saturday, June 20
🕕 6:00 PM AST
📍 Live on Zoom
🔗 Register now: bit.ly/luiwhereyoubelong
📲 Link in bio / QR code on flyer

Tag someone who should be in this conversation 👇🏽
Share this post to your story 📲
Invite a friend (or five!) 💛

to an incredible day of connection and broadening horizons!✨ In May, Team LUI had the privilege of tabling at the nati...
04/06/2026

to an incredible day of connection and broadening horizons!✨ 

In May, Team LUI had the privilege of tabling at the national Career Showcase, hosted by .

🎯 Our mission? To meet students exactly where they are and equip them with the ultimate tool for their future: mental health literacy.

💼 Choosing a career path is one of the biggest decisions a young person can make, but true success starts from within. We reminded the students that mental health isn’t just a buzzword; it is the foundation for working productively and fully activating their potential.

We challenged them to reframe how they view themselves. They aren’t just future employees; they are problem solvers who can make a meaningful contribution to society through their careers, volunteering, and passion-fuelled side projects! 

🎨 Our “Colour Your Heart” activity was the absolute star of the show! It was deeply moving to connect with the students and see the diverse ways they approached mapping out their inner worlds. By using colour to express their moods, it opened a safe, stigma-free door for them to share the real emotions they’ve been navigating. Our facilitators were right there to provide direct guidance on self-care, healthy coping, and how to access more support.

🌀With June marking the start of hurricane season, we introduced a powerful analogy to help them safeguard their minds. Just like we stock up on batteries, water, and emergency kits to prepare for physical storms, we must proactively prepare for mental health storms before our internal resources deplete.

We walked them through creating their own Mental Health Action Plan, guiding them to identify their personalised, healthy coping strategies, the trusted people they can talk to, and crisis resources. 

🏛️ We also clued them in on the work we do at LUI and promoted the Third Sector as a viable, high-impact career path! For the vast majority, this was their very first time learning that you can build a career entirely dedicated to social good and national development.

This is the work we love! 💛

We are doing good work! But, we need your passion, your skills, YOU! 🫵🏽Most people look at the mental health crisis and ...
31/05/2026

We are doing good work! But, we need your passion, your skills, YOU! 🫵🏽

Most people look at the mental health crisis and feel powerless. They think changing a culture requires massive institutional shifts or clinical degrees. But public health history tells us a different story: Real change is driven by everyday people who decide to step up, model the change, and bring others along. 📣

💛 At Let’s Unpack It (LUI), we don’t just advocate; we listen to youth and engineer for-youth by-youth mental health solutions. From our door-to-door community walkthroughs to our national summer camp curriculum and digital resources, we are building the framework to promote mental health literacy and healthy coping strategies, restore hope, reactivate communities, and remove the barriers to accessing mental health care and support, across the region.

🙋🏾🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏻‍♀️ But we can’t do it without your talent onboard! Whether you’re a creative, a data tracker, a psychology student, or simply someone who believes no one should suffer in isolation, there is a seat for you at our table. You are the protagonist this movement has been waiting for!

CHOOSE YOUR PATHWAY TO IMPACT:

🟡 JOIN US: Become a Member of our Yellow Squad, as a volunteer! Apply now: bit.ly/luivolunteer

💳 INVEST: Donate to the cause and invest in building out our work. Your capital directly funds printing, training, and community deployment. Bank details on the slides.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 PARTNER: Looking to drive social impact, scale our youth literacy modules, or prioritise mental health in your own organisation? Let’s set up a call to discuss how we can work together! Tell us how you want to partner: bit.ly/workwithlui

Let’s build and restore community together! 💛💪🏽

Community is all around us! It’s up to each of us to build and sustain it. 🫂💛To wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month, w...
25/05/2026

Community is all around us! It’s up to each of us to build and sustain it. 🫂💛

To wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month, we didn’t just want to talk about mental health, we wanted to actively build the community spaces that protect it.

These images from our second Community Walkthrough are proof of what can happen when we take ownership and responsibility for restoring community. Over 40 medical students and youth advocates braved the rain to hit the pavement. We went door-to-door, building hope and breaking down mental health stigma through real, human conversations and reminding residents that they aren’t walking alone.

A big shoutout to the incredible squads who partnered with us to make this outreach possible:

🔵 Ross University School of Medicine: Bringing a cohort of budding doctors into the community, demonstrating the importance of community-based practice and understanding the needs and circumstances of the patients you serve. 🩺✨

🟠 Healthy Caribbean Youth: For always leading the charge in youth health advocacy and being open to meaningful collaboration.

🚖 pickUP Barbados: Our Official Mobility Partner, providing a safety net for our volunteers on the ground. Safe driving, personable drivers, and a clean, cool fleet made for a memorable, impactful, and incident-free day out for our team! Special thanks to David, Elijah, and Kenson, our stellar drivers!

📆 NEXT UP: SUMMER CAMP SEASON! 🚀
The walkthroughs are done (for now), but sustaining our community is a year-round mission. Here’s how you can step up and get involved right now:

📌 Join the Yellow Squad: We’re taking our mental health workshops into camps to support our young people, and we need YOU on the team. Apply to be a volunteer! (Link in bio!)

📌 Book the LUI Team: Managing a summer camp or trying to build a healthier workplace? Invite our team to develop your mental health curriculum or present to your campers or team: 🔗 bit.ly/workwithlui

Thank you to everyone who showed up and chose to build community with us. Let’s stay in it! 💛

Today, we celebrate the anchors – the women who build and sustain our communities. 🫂💛In our campaign, we’re talking a ...
10/05/2026

Today, we celebrate the anchors – the women who build and sustain our communities. 🫂💛

In our campaign, we’re talking a lot about “Community” as a protective factor for mental health. But before we find our tribe, our teams, or our neighbourhoods, many of us find our first sense of safety, belonging, and mental well-being in the arms of a mother.

Mothers, and those who mother, are the ultimate community builders. They are the original engagers, the listeners, the community activators, and the primary support systems that keep our society standing.

Today, we honour all women who:
✨ Create safe spaces where none existed.
✨ Teach us that our feelings deserve to be “unpacked.”
✨ Protect the mental well-being of the next generation.

To the LUI moms, community aunties, and the mother-figures in our Yellow Squad, thank you for being the foundation of our village. 💛

Happy Mother’s Day! 🌼

LUI Family! Who is the woman in your life who represents ‘Community’ to you? Tag her below and give her her flowers! 👇

Building community. One conversation at a time! 💛Last Sunday, our descended on the Clapham community for our first “In...
07/05/2026

Building community. One conversation at a time! 💛

Last Sunday, our descended on the Clapham community for our first “Into the Community” walkthrough. And the energy was unmatched! ⚡️

We didn’t just walk and talk. We connected!

Our volunteers engaged in “Doorstep Dialogues”, listening to residents’ perspectives on what community means to them; the connection between community and mental health; and how we could build and restore “community” in Clapham.

🛟 We also shared resources they could use to support their neighbours, especially young people. We believe that to truly and , we have to meet people exactly where they are — at home, on the hardcourt, in the verandah, and in their communities..

📌 Why Community Matters:
Isolation is one of the biggest risks to our well-being. Studies tell us that a strong, inclusive, and supportive community acts as a powerful protective factor for mental health. By building these communities of support, we ensure that no one has to navigate their darkest days alone. Clapham showed us that when we show up for each other, when we find ways to connect, and actually talk to each other, we create a safety net that builds hope and saves lives. 🫂

🫱🏽‍🫲🏾 This community activation was powered by some incredible support:

— Our friends who first introduced us to the Clapham community, and graciously agreed to walk with us!

— Our Official Mobility Partner, who provided the safety and content vehicles that kept our squad moving seamlessly and safely. 🚗💨

— Who gave us a generous donation of water, keeping our volunteers hydrated and energized in the afternoon heat! 💧

🟡 WANT TO WEAR THE YELLOW? Clapham was just the beginning. We are scaling up for our second activation on May 23rd, and we need YOU! Whether you’re a pro at engaging or a whiz at data collection, there’s a spot for you on the Yellow Squad!

🔗 TAP THE LINK IN OUR BIO to become an LUI Volunteer and join us for our next Community Walkthrough!

👀 Which community are we hitting next? Any guesses?

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Bridgetown

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