At Youth Action Unlocked, young people from across the North East gathered to design projects that could make a real difference in their communities. From Laurel Avenue Community Centre in Durham, a group called Laurel United stepped forward. This group was made up of members who shared a mutual passion for improving mental health and wellbeing.

For them, the challenge to address was clear, choosing to tackle education and mental health. Zeke told The Key that the main inspiration for the project came when the group started thinking about the main problems that they all face: “we all decided education and mental health were the two struggles for all of us.”

Their solution was to create mental health and wellbeing packs to distribute to local schools in their area. These packs would include fidgets, notepads, and pens for writing down feelings and struggles, stickers, sweets, highlighters, motivational quotes and information on mental health and wellbeing. The aim was to give children and young people practical tools to support their everyday challenges – and to spark more open conversations around mental health.

To make this happen, the group first took a trip to The Range to buy supplies. This shopping trip brought its own challenges: they had to think carefully about sturdiness, size and sustainability of the packaging options for their packs. At first, they considered paper bags but realised they wouldn’t hold up. After some debate and two separate visits to the store due to limited stock, they decided on using pencil cases instead. The group decided that the pencil cases would help make the packs discreet, so young people wouldn’t feel singled out or embarrassed for taking one.

The team even adjusted their display plans according to their budget – opting for three-tiered trolleys instead of simple boxes, which were too small to hold all the packs. They budgeted carefully, deciding to prioritise the most meaningful items first and only add sweets if there was money left over. Bethany also managed to secure donated freebies, like pens and stickers, helping them stretch their budget further!

Once the items were ready to go into the packs, the groups organised a ‘conveyor belt’ packing system to make the process more efficient. At the end of the first packing session, they reviewed the bags to see what else they could add, making thoughtful decisions about durability, reusability, and cost.

But their project wasn’t just about assembling bags, it was also about listening. Laurel United wanted the packs to truly meet the needs of their peers. They gathered feedback directly from students in schools about what they’d like included. The group also thought that they could use anonymous surveys on Google Classroom after distributing the packs to gather feedback on whether they worked or not. Originally, they had thought about collecting feedback through a physical box but after they discussed their own personal experience they chose an online method instead, believing that this would make young people feel safer sharing their thoughts. They also might return to schools to interview young people who’ve used them!

Laurel United also thought up and developed a sign in/sign out system for the packs so that everyone has the opportunity to access a pack.

Overall, the group hope the packs will improve attendance, boost mental wellbeing, and support better learning outcomes.

The process of taking part in Youth Action Unlocked and delivering the KEY+ Challenge offered the group the opportunity to build a wide range of skills. From budgeting and teamwork to organisation, presentation, and IT skills, they learnt what it meant to run a project from start to finish.

But it was also about confidence. Standing up in front of the panel on the day wasn’t easy as Zeke said he was excited to get his ideas across “because my ideas don’t get heard as much” but he also felt a “bit nervous to go up.”

Levi described feeling “excited” to share ideas, and others felt proud to be “doing something good for others”. When the panel finished and their project was approved, there were smiles all around!

Despite the nerves, the experience gave Zeke and the other members of the group something powerful: a sense of pride in being heard. As Zeke reflected on youth-led action, he told us what made him most proud of taking part in the day: “I feel proud to allow my ideas because it could’ve been someone else’s ideas, so I just feel proud of me doing it.”

For Laurel United, their project was more than just handing out packs, it was about taking their shared struggles and transforming them into action that could support others. By stepping up at Youth Action Unlocked, they not only created something meaningful for the community and schools in their area but also discovered the strength of their own voices in shaping change.