May is National Mental Health Awareness Month. While still difficult to discuss and often misunderstood, mental health has become less taboo and is a topic of frequent discussion in news segments, politics and legislation, school curriculum, the workplace and more. In an effort to promote mental health and wellness and provide resources to teens in the community, the Junior League of El Paso, Inc. (JLEP) launched a mobile app for teens as part of their efforts to improve mental and physical health resources in the region. The app, MyFeels, was launched in May of 2021. In early 2023, JLEP submitted the MyFeels app for the Innovation Award at the annual Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) Conference. MyFeels was selected as the 2023 recipient for the award!
MyFeels is a mental health digital resource for teens ages 13 to 18. We worked with JLEP to strategize the use cases and best way to develop the app. With guidance from an adolescent mental health specialist and a thorough review of existing resources and statistics on teenage mental health issues, we developed an app that helps users define their feelings and hopefully pinpoint potential causes and healthy ways to cope.
The app uses mental health information, affirmations, emergency resources and user-generated tips and comments (moderated and approved by JLEP before they are publicly posted) to help reduce feelings of isolation and reduce the stigma around mental health.
We facilitated a focus group with local teens to get feedback on possible names for the app. The overall feedback indicated the best name was MyFeels. Our design team created an uplifting design for the identity and app that is inviting, without being too bubbly or fake. It is youthful, but not juvenile. Our programming team ensured the app is available for both Apple and Android devices, listing the app in the App Store and on Google Play. The JLEP team can moderate the comments, update resources and add information through the custom content management system.
Despite minimal promotion, the app has recorded over 1,000 interactions on the home screen since its launch and continued engagement with users from month to month. To help JLEP build awareness for the app, we also developed a 30-second informational video for JLEP to use as part of their larger promotional efforts.
See what success looks like.
