Mental Health Side Project

I have a side project. And the project could use your help!

The dream is to end young adult suicides. >6,600 youth ages 10-24 died by sui*ide in 2020.

The goal is to reduce young adult self-harm. 25% of young adults report having suicidal thoughts.

There’s an obvious difference between the dream and the goal. One is very, very achievable. The other, well, we can revisit that later.

As this side project has taken a form that is ready to share out, I have an ask, dear network: Would you be open to helping me achieve the goal above??(Students, teachers, counselors, designers, & UI devs are particularly called upon ;-)

The beginning of this project was a data science course at Stanford. Actually, that’s not true. The REAL beginning was when my first daughter was born. Just before we had to come up with a focus for our final project for the class, a man was arrested 2 blocks away from my daughter’s school. He had walked into a sporting goods store to purchase a gun. He told the clerk he needed something that would be good for shooting up a school. The cops rushed the scene. The school was alerted. We were called. And thus began my journey on and around this issue of violence and mental health. (I’ve posted about it here before.)

The focus has evolved to be on self harm. Teen and young adult females will consider suicide at twice the rate of their male peers. So, as the father of two daughters, I am unnerved by the thought of the day I finally give in to letting them have cell phones and the terrible feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and other negative images we know the Instagrams of the world will introduce them to. Suicide is the number 2 cause of death for teens and young adults. (Car crashes are #1.)

In the days and weeks ahead this project will start to see some daylight.?

What is it and how can you help??

For contextual effect, pause to think about the last time you openly shared how you were REALLY feeling with your boss. Or, if you’re a young adult, the last time you shared with a teacher or coach what was “really” going on with you.?

The one part of ourselves that we never get to share enough is our emotions, our moods. So many of us have to wear emotional masks each day. Keep up appearances. Put on a smile. Pretend we are confident. Or some other iteration of hiding our mental state when that's not how we feel. Or, maybe we cover up our pride and confidence because we don't want to be perceived as haughty or arrogant.

Either extreme or any point in between, we all have had moods that we wish our friends, co-workers, managers, families, teachers, coaches, counselors could be aware of. Even if it's just for them to recognize that, "Hey! I'm feeling something over here!" Sh*t is hard. I could really use some positive recognition. Even a small break would be nice!

The project I - we - have been working on is to be the vehicle that helps teens and young adults share their moods with those around them - their classmates, teammates, dormmates, bandmates, co-workers, teachers, coaches, and counselors.?

There’s quite a bit more to this project in terms of the “HOW.” I'll add that it involves a mobile app. ;-) The rest I'll share with those who may be interested in hearing more, for those who might be able to help.?

Specifically, we could use some help from you if you are a:

• Teacher
• Student
• Counselor
• Therapist
• Designer
• UI developer
• In edtech sales
• Are passionate about mental wellness

I know details are a bit light here. But if this has piqued your interest in any way, shoot me a DM or an email at the.chris.drew @ gmail

And stay well, friends!

cd