CrisisConnect

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  To create a more user-friendly experience, statements have spaces and user input is indicated with an arrow.

Inspiration

I'm 16 years old and I'm from Montana. For the past 5 or more years, Montana has had one of, if not the highest suicide rate in the United States. The tension surrounding mental health crises is palpable. In recent years, teens have been encouraged to get help through hotlines. However, it may be hard to identify which hotline to use in a crisis. I wanted to make something useful and simple that helps those going through rough times identify what their next step is in one of these emotional moments.

What it does

CrisisConnect asks the user questions about their crisis to guide them to the correct helpline. The user's safety, the ability to chat out loud, and specific emotions are just some examples of what CrisisConnect asks for. CrisisConnect responds to certain words such as "help" and "abuse" at any time during the chat, and will immediately recommend emergency contacts if these words are entered. The satisfaction of the user is also taken into account after every hotline recommendation. If the user is not satisfied with their outcome, they have the ability to continue to chat. CrisisConnect also offers coping mechanisms for users, so if it cannot find a helpline to assign, the user will not be left without support. A choice between hotline help and coping mechanisms is offered from the start as well.

How we built it

I built CrisisConnect using Python in VisualStudioCode. I decided to stick to the AI track given.

Challenges we ran into

At first, I did not think I would be creating my project with Python. Swift was the language I originally thought I would create CrisisConnect in, but I ran into issues using "SDK." I decided I would not dwell on my issue, but challenge myself to pick up a new language and create a project in it over the span of a couple hours. Now, I am so much more confident in my Python abilities and have a fully functioning chat system that I am proud of.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Although I am no stranger to coding, this was my first big project using Python. Before Creatica, I had only merely played around with the language, printing "Hello World" in a terminal. This was not my first big project with an object-oriented language, but coding in Python was a new experience and turned out to be super fun - and I did it all on my own. I am proud that I created a fully-functioning program that is used for good and can help others. The fact I made something that could potentially save lives is what I am most proud of after this hackathon.

What we learned

I learned more about Python syntax, and basic aspects of the language. These include the creation of lists, variables, functions, statements, etc. One of the most important things I learned throughout this process was the different crisis hotlines and their uses. Through designing this program, I was forced to educate myself and study these associations. This was my first hackathon, so I learned a lot about how one works. I never knew there were conferences, and attending one to listen to women in tech discuss their backgrounds was exciting and inspiring.

What's next for CrisisConnect

I would love to implement CrisisConnect into my website or app for teens to use!

Built With

• python
• vscode