a start on the passion projects of cohort 4.2

FirstIn

Less than 300 words which describe your project. Etc,....

Jennifer Tinkler

My passion project is an application that is targeted toward first responders. I am very passionate about Mental Health care and awareness for police, firefighters, parametics and EMTs. I would like to create an app that will be used by departments that will assist first responders in mental health crisis. This app will direct and be used by members in mental health crisis. There are far too many members of our front line responders that are dealing with depression, substance abuse and destructive behaviors because there is very little emphasis placed on their mental health and wellness. My idea is to have an app that would be installed by department members and is there to be used in case of mental health emergencies. Most agencies have some sort of crisis counselors or staff that can be utilized in this fashion but in most cases these people are hard to locate or get in touch with. I want a way to give ease of access to these couselors and other mental health care professionals. I would also like to give the user the option of picking either text, phone or video chat to get them out of crisis and usher them toward the next step in treatment or evaluation by a higher level of care professional.