DEEC is Live: Developing Employable, Entrepreneurial Citizens Challenge in Barbados

Bridgetown, Barbados — 10/21/2025

Sustainable People & Communities Inc. (SPCI), in partnership with the YMCA, is excited to share that we’ve launched the Developing Employable, Entrepreneurial Citizens (DEEC) Challenge. This 8-week pilot is designed for vulnerable young adults (16–29) who need an additional social support system, practical skills, and people who will walk with them.

Why now

Barbados is in a social tight spot. Post-COVID mental health challenges didn’t just fade; they deepened. Every week, the news reminds us: more youth, some under 20, are touching prison gates. Families are stretched. Jobs feel out of reach. And the transition from school to work? Turbulent, especially with global economic shocks, geopolitics, and climate impacts making everything shakier.

As a social enterprise, we refuse to stand up in meetings or call in programs and blame the youth, or only ask, “How did the youth get so?” Those comments and questions, as we have repeatedly advocated,  won’t change outcomes. Intervention will.

What DEEC does

The DEEC Challenge blends holistic life skills inclusive of mental health and resilience with employability and entrepreneurship mindset coaching. Week by week we tackle mindset, discipline, communication, planning, money habits, teamwork, and practical experiences. We started inside the mind,  self-awareness and language (what we speak over our lives) then move outside to working on their readiness and exposure after being prepared for the path ahead.

This isn’t a lecture series. It’s people, practice, and productive outcomes:

• Daily check-ins to build healthy habits

• Coaching that challenges learned helplessness

• Assignments tied to real life, not just a classroom

• A small cohort that gets seen, not lost.

Who it’s for

Young adults across Barbados who want to reset their mind and perception of their lives, build resilience, and gain practical exposure. Whether you’re just out of school, still trying to finish, or in your first job or business and struggling to find footing, you belong here.

How the community can help?

• Businesses: Offer a 3-week internship so participants can earn genuine work experience.

• Mentors/Facilitators/Presenters: Share your expertise on core modules. Help shape work/enterprise-ready, purpose-driven citizens.

• Partners & Sponsors: Support the cohort with resources, stipends, or placements. It’s smart CSR with immediate impact.

As Les Brown puts it: It is better to be prepared without an opportunity than to meet an opportunity unprepared.
The SPCI & Barbados YMCA – DEEC Challenge is the intervention, the extra preparation. Your internship, mentorship, or sponsorship can be the opportunity.

Join us / Get involved

• Participants: Register at sustainablepeoplebb.org/deec-challenge/

• WhatsApp: +246-287-7435

• Email: info@sustainablepeoplebb.org

• Social: @sustainablepeoplebb

• Businesses & Mentors: Message us today to confirm your internship slots or facilitation support.

They need us. We need them. Let’s not turn our backs and leave them to be destroyed. Let two hands clap, help them grow.