Heart To Heart

Inspiration

We were inspired by those around us - friends, community members, etc. - who are in tough situations and want/need mental health services, but do not have the insurance or funds to pay for such an important yet expensive service.

What it does

This is a platform created to bridge the gap in mental health support by creating an accessible and affordable alternative to traditional therapy. We connect volunteer professionals with users who provide submissions about their struggles and what type of help they are looking for. Through videos and other forms of communication, we foster a personal connection and highlight the importance of mental health support.

How we built it

We used React.js (with JavaScript, HTML/CSS) and Firebase in order to create an interactive web app. The real-time database stores user and professional info and also allows users and professionals to communicate with low latency.

Challenges we ran into

We did not have that much experience in React and knew nothing about databases, so we had to learn, troubleshoot, and then learn some more. Starting with the frontend of our web app, when it came to integrating the backend with Firebase, we ran into countless issues that we had to tirelessly debug. Utilizing the React router DOM was a challenge as well, as we had to emphasize project-wide organization and implement precise navigations from page to page.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are very proud that we were able to develop an aesthetically pleasing and functional web app, and that we learned how to use databases, React.js and implement these technologies into our application. Despite the challenges, we were able to persevere and push a working project that encapsulated our goal.

What we learned

We learned the importance of planning and organization. Working in a team of four on a project that would consist of 30+ files, we knew we would have to assign responsibilities in regular intervals and regroup often. The organization within the web app folders themselves was also crucial for ease of programming and readability. We also learned the intricacies of having a web app interact with the real-time database, combining both frontend and backend components.

What's next for Heart To Heart

Heart to Heart plans to implement fully functional video and audio messages next, as well as reach out to mental health professionals to see their interest in volunteering.