Felicia McLean – Chief Nursing Officer – Ministry of Health & Wellness; Ms. Emily Kelly – Executive Director – Alex Panton Foundation; Hon. Sabrina Turner MP – Minister for Health & Wellness; Hon. Franz Manderson – Deputy Governor; Mrs. Nellie Pouchie – Chief Officer – Ministry of Health & Wellness; Ms. Stacie Sybersma – Deputy Chief Officer (Wellness) – Ministry of Health & Wellness

Grand Cayman, Monday, 28 October 2024–   The Ministry of Health & Wellness, together with the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) and various public, private, and non-profit partners, successfully launched Cayman’s first youth “non-summit” at the Lions Centre, on 21 October 2024.

The “Inspire: A Youth Meetup to Speak Out”was created for young people across the Cayman Islands, to empower them to openly discuss pressing issues like mental health, self-care, and community wellbeing in a setting that encouraged open expression and collaborative problem-solving.

This groundbreaking event broke from the mold of traditional summits with its interactive “non-summit” design, attracting 234 young people aged 12-17 from Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, to participate in a full day of peer-led discussions, interactive workshops, and breakout sessions. The event included three main focus areas:

Let’s Talk: In these open dialogue sessions, the young attendees took the lead, exchanging thoughts on issues such as mental health, scarcity of youth-focused activities in Cayman, and the future of job opportunities for young people. With a moderator present to guide and encourage, the conversations flowed freely, allowing attendees to voice their insights and concerns in an environment that felt both supportive and empowering.

Mindful Activity Spaces: Three creative spaces that encouraged youth to explore different ways of unwinding and self-expression. In the Mindful Meditation area, participants learned simple techniques to bring calmness into their daily routines. The Art Jam session let them dive into creativity, using art as a powerful way to express their emotions, while the Community Mural allowed them to leave a lasting mark beyond the day’s event.

Learning Sessions: Led by field experts, these sessions tackled real-world challenges facing our youth today, and offered practical skills that they could use right away. Sessions such as Swipe Right on Wellness helped participants learn ways to balance social media use and navigate its pressures. Thrive With Grace focused on building resillience and treating oneself with compassion. Drama Detox provided tools for managing tough relationships and fostering positive healthy connections.

Following the day’s programme, participants enjoyed a youth-centered after-party complete with music, food, and a photo booth. The event was free for all high-school students, a testament to the Ministry’s commitment to accessibility and inclusivity for young voices across the Cayman Islands.

Hon. Sabrina Turner MP, Minister for Health & Wellness, said: “Mental health is the foundation for a healthy future, and today our youth showed just how ready they are to lead that conversation. Inspire was not just an event, it was a reminder that when we give young people space to share openly, they rise to the occasion with courage, creativity, and compassion. We are deeply committed to building on this momentum, to ensure that their voices shape the mental health resources and support systems that they deserve in the Cayman Islands.”

“Our aim in hosting this event was to send a clear, strong, unified message to our young people that they matter, their voices matter, and that as parents, allies, professionals, and decision-makers – we are listening with the intention to act,” states Ms. Felicia McLean, Chief Nursing Officer for the Ministry of Health and Wellness. “We are so grateful that so many of our youth took the time to be here today, to share with one another and with us, to make new friends, learn new skills and invest in our community through their participation. This is the first ever event of its kind, so our hope is that the participants see the value in it and let us know that we should do it again.”

Dr. Chantal Basson, Health Services Authority Clinical Psychologist at Alex’s Place, added: “Today’s event helped us to gain a clearer understanding of the mental health landscape affecting young people in Cayman and whether certain experiences we’ve observed in practice are widespread or limited to specific groups of people. At Alex’s Place we see high levels of suicidal ideation among young people, driven by various factors. Many struggle to communicate with their parents for different reasons, sometimes, despite parents’ willingness to listen. Social media often contributes to a disconnect. Many young people express hopelessness for the future. They feel that without high grades, they will not succeed or find fulfillment in Cayman. This concern, combined with witnessing their parents’ struggles can make them hesitant to add to that burden. The effects of excessive screen time amongst young people are very real. We are seeing a lot of isolation that stems from them spending a lot of time on their phones, and the damaging effects the information they consume on their phones has on their mental health. We are also seeing that young people are isolated because they are not going out due to a lack of appropriate gathering spaces. All of these societal and familial challenges underscore the difficulties facing young people and affecting their mental health in the Cayman Islands.”

Ms. Emily Kelly, Executive Director for the Alex Panton Foundation, added: “Youth mental health is something that we need to prioritise, and events like these offer us an opportunity to engage with our key stakeholders- young people themselves- and to learn from them what they need from us. All of our sessions had scribes assigned to them in an effort to collect important data anonymously based on what was shared. The aim is to analyse that information and share it with our partners so it can be used to form policy decisions to programming and services and everything in between. Young people are the present; they are the here and now and while we work to prepare them for the future, we must honour and celebrate childhood and adolescence.”

Being the first youth-focused event of its kind in the Cayman Islands, the Inspire Meet Up marked a critical step forward in tackling the rising mental health challenges affecting the youth of Cayman. By uniting the voices of youth, community leaders, and healthcare providers, the Inspire Meetup has initiated a vital conversation that promises lasting impact on the mental health landscape of the Cayman Islands.

Inspire: A Youth Meet Up to Speak Out was supported by gold sponsors – HSA, CINICO, Dart, Valour Foundation, Alex Panton Foundation, and many more dedicated partners.