A suicide prevention app designed for young Nebraskans is now available for download.
It’s called My Companion Journal.
Dr. Dave Miers, who's the director of Bryan Health, said the technology acts as a sort of writing therapy for users, while linking them to additional mental health resources such as emergency hotlines.
“You can journal through your phone,” Miers said. “You can keep track of what's going well… what maybe didn't go so well, what were some barriers that you ran into today, who are some people that I met today that would be good people for me to stay connected with?”
He said the idea came from a similar app released in Utah called SafeUT.
“So long story short, we ended up writing some grants of our own and interviewed some app developers… And it took us about three and a half years, and we actually developed our own app from scratch,” Miers said.
The Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition, the board of which Miers is a member, developed the app in partnership with Boys Town National Hotline and Lincoln software company Don’t Panic Labs.
While the app was released Monday, Mires says he's encouraged by early feedback. He notes while the app's resources are primarily focused in Lancaster County, he would eventually like to see resources added from around the state.
If you’ve had thoughts of suicide or know someone who has, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.
To download My Companion from the Apple App Store, click HERE
To download My Companion from Google Play, click HERE