Build bridges between people who might not have the courage to ask for help when they notice something isn’t right. This is the purpose of the Eyrapp application (the union of Eyra, the Nordic goddess of health and well-being and App), a project designed by three students from the Compañía de María de Zaragoza school, concerned about the mental health of young people. their generation… they are Pablo Santos, Irene Castillo and Guillermo Sáez (all 16 years old and graduate students in health sciences) and their mentor, Miguel Velasco; And his project is one of ten finalists in a competition launched by Audi.
They are aware of data which indicates that one in five young people have a mental health problem and that is “the tip of the iceberg”. It is important for them to offer help and above all to “focus on young people” and see technology as the protagonist because they are sure that it is they who “create insecurity and we wanted to show that.” They can help too,” says Irene. That’s why the project aims to “bring the phone of hope closer to our generation” because “we haven’t been able to have a phone, but an application,” he says.
They know about close cases and “we wanted to propose a solution,” says Pablo, because “an adult knows what to do, how to act, but maybe a more vulnerable audience like us needs help.” Shame more.”
And it will be an initiative that is like a chat, like WhatsApp, « with artificial intelligence that « we want to humanize » and what problems can be reported, but it also includes psychological tests, people with similar experiences, from people Pablo explains that “he needs help and encouragement to continue.”
The application will be free and, as Irene explains, “we don’t want to replace psychologists”, to which Pablo says: “It has two strong points, it helps people who don’t want to go to a psychologist and want to talk.” For someone who doesn’t judge” but will have specialists or referrals when necessary.
In addition, they want to break down taboos and talk about mental health issues because “it seems like they only talk about the right roles and it’s not.” Velasco says “it is necessary to ask for help” for which Erap itself offers “anyone who feels bad can enter the application and find light”, since it will not be necessary to identify themselves.
For students and teachers, it is essential to talk about mental health, not identify problems as “weird”, claims Irene, who believes it is necessary to talk about and “normalize”. Is. Says Pablo, and he omits words like “crazy” as an example.
Guillermo, Irene and Pablo were already finalists in the same competition last year, on that occasion with an application on the environment and “how to reduce plastic in the ocean,” they explain. They liked the experience and have repeated it with a problem that affects their generation and with which they want to “help”.
On June 17, the Valentine team called Sierzo will go to Madrid and take part in a ceremony in which they will explain their project for three minutes. A jury will select the winner, but in the event of a tiebreaker, the votes received to date will be what declares the winner and which application is developed (you can vote at audicrea.com). The award is two weeks in the US, one to get to know the country and the other to develop the project at Google, Apple, etc. For the award “It will be an unforgettable reward” and “For the project, which is very necessary.” They don’t want to make money, just “help and improve what is around”; For this reason, they know that, as Audi trainers tell them, theirs is “an essential project” and that even if they are not selected in the future, Eyrapp will become a reality.
