Two Palo Alto High School juniors are developing Bloom, a mental health app designed specifically for Paly students, with the hopes of partnering with a local youth mental health service Allcove to bring it to the broader student community.
Ayaan Nagrani and David Fridshtand created the app from a simple observation — many students don’t know where to turn when they need help.
“A lot of kids don’t know what resources are available to them, even if they want to reach out,” Nagrani said.
The app aims to solve this problem by helping make Palo Alto-specific mental health resources more accessible to students through their cell phones. The app features a resource finder which allows users to navigate through local services, a mood check-in, journaling, breathing exercises and affirmations.
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A lot of kids don’t know what resources are available to them, even if they want to reach out.”
— Ayaan Nagrani, Paly junior
What sets Bloom apart from other wellness apps, according to its creators, is its use of artificial intelligence to personalize the experience and tailor its impact to be different for each and every user.
Everyone can use Bloom to log their current mood or write a journal entry, and the app would take that information to suggest locally sourced resources that are best suited for that specific user, according to Nagrani. A built-in feedback loop also allows the app to learn overtime to better suit that user. For example, if a user marks a resource as unhelpful, the app factors that in for future suggestions.
“A lot of apps just give you a bunch of tools and say, ‘Do what you’ve got to do,’” Nagrani said.
After speaking with wellness professionals, therapists and staff at Paly’s own Wellness Center, they shifted their central focus away from providers and toward students themselves.
“We got a lot of feedback, and a lot of rejections,” Nagrani said. “But we really want to help people, and that’s the motivation to keep going.”
With their app taking shape, the pair set their sights on a partnership with Allcove, a student-led youth mental health organization with a strong presence in the Palo Alto community.
For Nagrani and Fridshtand, the goal is simple — remove the barriers that keep students from seeking help. Whether that means pointing someone towards the Wellness Center, Allcove or another local resource, they want Bloom to play a big role in directing students towards that first step regarding mental health.
“Don’t be scared to reach out,” Fridshtand said. “Don’t be scared to try something new.”