Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | October 14, 2019 | wbjournal.com BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor F O C U S I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y I n its goal to encourage dialogue about mental health and open up access to services for youth, Worcester's Shine Initiative has gone into dozens of schools across Central Massachusetts to talk with students. Now, thanks to an app created by Worcester tech firm Pagano Media and funded by the nonprofit Health Foun- dation of Central Massachusetts, that mission can be taken to students when they're not in school – and to other students anywhere. "ere's only so much time you can have in front of students," said Fred Kaelin, the Shine Initiative's executive director. e app, called Mindmatters, still in- cludes much of what students are taught about mental health, including how to access services. In fact, the app includes 360-degree video of a few classroom presentations, putting anyone in the place of a student learning about how common feelings of sadness, anxiety or depression can be. e Shine Initiative wanted to get to students where they so oen are: on their phones. A student can discreetly get tips on what to do while feeling angry – hit a punching bag, rip up a newspaper, or throw ice against a brick wall or the ground, for example. For the most serious cases, prominent buttons can connect a user to a suicide hotline and to 911. A year-long process e new app, along with a re- vamped, brighter logo and overhauled website for the Shine Initiative, was made possible through a $57,000 grant made in October 2018 by the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. A board reviewing applications found the Shine Initiative's proposal to be a perfect fit for a fund it devotes to one-time, year-long projects to increase an organization's capacity to offer services, said Jan Yost, the foun- dation's president. e app complements what the Shine Initiative has already done in schools, Yost said, and uses suggestions – others include taking a shower or bath, or guided meditation – proven to be effec- tive. Shine has added many of the same features to its news website. "It's important to reach them in real time," Yost said of the accessibility to Mental health app e SHINE Initiative partnered with Pagano Media to develop a new way to reach teens and youth Fred Kaelin, the executive director of the Shine Initiative, expects its new mental health app to broaden the organization's reach to area youth and beyond. PHOTO/GRANT WELKER

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