Hi, I'm Shellie-Ann, founder of Yaadi Strong and a Jamaican who has benefited greatly from gaining access to mental health care later in life. 

I'm raising funds to create mental health programming to support Jamaica's recovery from Hurricane Melissa.

Hurricanes don’t just destroy buildings; they shatter safety, steal sleep, and plant anxiety deep in little bodies. I’ve gathered a group of Jamaicans who are committed to healing each other, but we need resources to reach everyone who’s struggling. Your generosity will support our group yoga sessions, individual therapy, and day-long healing camps. From Yaadi to Yaadi, we take care of our own. But we need the tools. 

We have a strong team of volunteers already but need money to support our day camp attendees with materials, meals and transportation. 

I grew up in Jamaica when mental health was widely stigmatized. Therapy was seen as a weakness, as "foreign mind" thinking, as something for "crazy" people. I found access to therapy later in life, and it changed everything. I'm a better, more resilient person because of it. I learned mindfulness, learned to process trauma, and learned tools that help me survive and thrive.

I want that for all Jamaicans.

I'm a flight dispatcher by profession, but I spent two years working with special education students in Washington State. That experience taught me how critical specialized, patient, culturally-informed care is - especially for people dealing with trauma, neurodivergence, and challenges that mainstream systems ignore or mishandle.

Mental health care isn't one-size-fits-all. It has to be rooted in culture, delivered by people who understand the community, and accessible to everyone - not just those who can afford it.

Yaadi Strong is Jamaicans healing Jamaica. I started this effort with my sister, a licensed clinical social worker, and my best friend, a psychologist. Since launching, we've had psychiatrists, yoga instructors and an assortment of trauma-informed healers volunteer to join the effort. We're not amateurs playing at disaster relief. We're trained mental health professionals who understand that trauma care IS disaster relief.

We've already begun the work: As of November 15, we've supported two Jamaicans in Jamaica with funds for receiving mental health care from Jamaican professionals who understand the culture, the trauma, and the community.

We're providing mental health counseling, community support, and mutual aid directly to the communities that need it most - not through big nonprofits with overhead, but through trusted Jamaican community leaders who know these parishes, know these families, know who's been forgotten.

I’m on the ground in Jamaica, hosting therapeutic day camps, and connecting with a local team, and ensuring funds get to the communities in the hilly interior that are being overlooked.

Where your money goes:

Mental health counseling for hurricane survivors provided by licensed Jamaican therapists, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists

Sensory tools and supplies for trauma-informed healing day camps for children (some schools still haven't reopened - children need safe spaces to process trauma)

Support for community leaders coordinating relief in overlooked areas

Direct aid to families in Jamaica's hilly interior who are still without power, still displaced, still waiting.

Why trust us with this?

Because we're FROM there. Because our families are there. Because I know personally what access to mental health care can do - and I know what it's like to grow up without it because I've worked with vulnerable populations who need specialized care. Because we're licensed mental health professionals who know that healing trauma is essential to disaster recovery. Because we've already started serving clients - this isn't theoretical, it's happening NOW because we know these communities personally. And because Yaadi Strong operates on mutual aid principles - one one coco full basket - not the nonprofit industrial complex that eats donations.

Yaadi Strong is Jamaicans healing Jamaica. One community at a time.

Yaadi Strong is the care I wish I'd had access to growing up.

Yaadi Strong is the mindfulness and resilience every Jamaican deserves - especially now, when trauma is everywhere and healing is essential.

I appreciate your support.