ArtWell: Building Resilient Thinkers

Through mobile app-based art activities, high school students will be a tap away from learning critical skills in resiliency in order to improve their mental health and quality of life.

ArtWell is driven to support communities in becoming leaders in mental health education, suicide prevention, and creating health-affirming classrooms. We do this through a smartphone application that pairs creative expression with resiliency training tools that students can access directly through smartphone devices provided by the school. Imagine an application that not only supports students through arts engagement, but also serves as a resource for teachers to learn how to skillfully lead conversations built on empathy in their classrooms. Front facing, students can explore activities that are creative-based, movement-based, meditative, or reflective. They can also access a directory of local mental health resources. Teachers and school administrators can view anonymized data on the application to track student engagement with the app along with optimizing their classroom environment in response to student needs. They can initiate classroom wide check-ins throughout their lessons to ensure every student is engaged and support students who may need additional accommodations in the classroom.

ArtWell’s vision is to integrate wellness into every space, so neurodivergence isn’t just welcomed in the classroom but is uplifted in the world and we believe with our mobile application, we are determined to do just that.

Student mental health and mental illness have major consequences within the school system. 27,985 children aged 14-21 with autism, emotional disturbance or other health impairments drop out each year.  In 2016 alone, student discipline has cost the United States $38 billion in taxpayer dollars. Despite these alarming numbers, there has been a substantial disinvestment in school-based mental health programming. Many of these programs are federally funded. NASSP notes that funding has been severely cut. There was a $400 million cut in 2017 from a previous $800 million budget in 2014. In a recent 2020 survey, only 4% of high school graduates said they learned critical skills for wellness in high school (i.e. being able to focus in class, coping with stress, managing the use of substances, etc). Every respondent reported wanting to learn these skills had they had the means. An alarming 67% of respondents reported not knowing or having an adult they could trust in high school. Schools are reinforcing the need for students to earn high grades, test scores, or standardized test scores at the expense of their own mental well-being. In summary, not only does the disproportionate disciplinary actions against students with mental health struggles impact their self-efficacy, school retention, and career outlooks, but it has led to suicide becoming the second leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24. The consequences of poorly supported mental health in schools has dangerous consequences on both the lives and livelihoods of our youth.

ArtWell's solution directly serves high school students in that they will be able to improve their self awareness so they can make informed decisions about their lives and future along with reducing the stigma on mental health within our youth and their families. Alongside that, we directly support teachers in facilitating healthy and empathetic conversations around mental health support in their classrooms giving them access to a wide array of skills, resources, and opportunities to support each student's learning every step of the way. Once ArtWell is integrated into schools, we hope to reduce the number of deaths by suicide, create partnerships in communities so students can receive any necessary support, and reduce stigma and its impact on accessing services for young people.

I have done extensive market research through one-to-one interviews with teachers, social workers, and art educators. Many of them have expressed wanting to help their students with their mental health, but not knowing the means or skills in which they could do so. I also disbursed a survey to more than 120 high school students and graduates to understand gaps in their high school experience and how their mental health was or was not supported throughout that time. Collaboratively, I have worked as a Digital Storytelling Intern for the Minnesota Youth Story Squad to teach critical skills in mental health through art-making. I've also volunteered extensively for the National Alliance for Mental Illness by serving both on their state Multicultural Youth Advisory Board and their national Young Adult Expert Advisory board where I gave feedback on youth programming on a national level and cultural programming on a state level. I've partook in monthly roundtable discussions with the Indigenous, Black, and People of Color Mental Health Collective at the University of Minnesota along with representing over 33,000 undergraduate students at the Minnesota Student Association where I designed and launched an online database of local and statewide mental health resources for our campus community. Most recently, I was selected as a fellow in the FINNOVATION Lab program where my vision for ArtWell and the insights I have learned from my community and experiences came to life. I was coach, mentored, and taught skills in social entrepreneurship for 9 months.

Through the support of the FINNOVATION Fellowship, I was able to design a business model for ArtWell, create organizational impact goals, and conduct industry analyses. In consultation with La Juana Whitmore Consulting, I created and refined a business plan. I also led outreach efforts to art educators, social workers, and high school teachers and students statewide to understand their insights regarding mental health in their classrooms and collect feedback regarding my app-based solution. I pitched my organization to over 175 community members in three separate pitch events. Additionally, I designed an app protoype through InVision that was used in the previously mentioned pitches.

Our solution relies on technology through the User Interface and User Experience design and software development for the application. We want this app built with the understanding and partnership of the youth and teachers we serve, so we also rely on technology through the design of our Minimum Viable Product studies. Before building the app, we will be conducting "pilot sessions" with youth and teachers using design elements and features in our apps but through focus groups.

We plan to serve at least three classrooms of 20-30 students per classroom through our pilot program next year.

1. Reduce the number of in-school disciplinary measures and its economic cost. In-school suspensions have cost US taxpayers $11 billion fiscally. By using ArtWell's app as a restorative justice alternative to "disruptive" or "disengaged" behavior, it will significantly reduce teachers' risks fo escalating the situation with the student further and promote healthy and affirming restorative practices.
2. Increase the coping skills toolbox of youth. 22.6% of high school students have agreed that they "find good ways to deal with things that are hard in their lives," from the Minnesota Student Survey. We will work to increase this to 33% by the 4 year mark.
3. Improve the self-awareness of young people so they can make informed decisions about their daily lives and future. 17.1% of high school students agree that "I can shape and influence the things that happen in my future." Through a rewards-based app that affirms every win and celebrates every small victory, we hope to increase that statistic to over 27% by the four year mark.
4. Reduce the stigma on mental health within Minnesota youth and their families. In a study by the National Institute of Health over 58% of families reported experiencing internal family stigma. We understand the dangerous consequences of mental health stigma, and are driven to cultivate a culture that normalizes conversations and skills in well-being to decrease the percentage of internal stigma to less than 50% by the four year mark.

We plan to measure progress towards our impact goals through the number of downloads per year, through in-app metrics noting student engagement (number of completed activities, student wellness surveys before and after an activity, etc.), and through 1-1 feedback and survey results from teachers and students. We will also measure impact through the number of students (who are enrolled in ArtWell), that receive in school suspensions, detentions, and other disciplinary actions.

The current barriers we have to accomplish our goals are primarily financial, technical, and legal. We have not secured any capital funding, angel investments, or grants to be able to fund our curriculum incubator. The curriculum incubator is a 6 month program that teams professionals from multiple disciplines (arts education, youthwork, curriculum design, etc.) to build the curriculum deck for the app. We have been in the works of researching viable software designers for our app, but because of our limited budget we cannot pursue these opportunities yet. We consulted with a local Twin Cities software designer who ballparked the cost of our app for both Android and iOS at $175,000. Legally, we are in need of a business consultant to understand the legalities of our solution and our contracts with schools.

I've worked extensively with curriculum developers, mental health nonprofits, state agencies, and youth development organizations throughout the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. I am personally connected and invested in the issue of mental health in our schools as being someone who was met with the worst of our mental health system and failing school system during my primary and secondary education. I am a youth worker by trade and an artist by heart. ArtWell is a fusion of my two fiery passions and is built because of my lived experiences and the lived experiences of those I've gotten to meet through volunteering as a teacher assistant in a local public high school, serving as a digital storytelling intern at a middle school, or as an arts mentor for a FIRST Robotics team. I also have extensive experience with curriculum design working in the Child Welfare Training Systems Unit of the Department of Human Services and using multi-media tools and platforms to expand their digital resource library for onboarding social workers in the child and family welfare systems. Everything I have done in my life has built up to this moment of curating an app that facilitates meaningful arts education to improve mental health education in our schoools.

We do not currently have partnerships, but we plan to expand our partnership efforts by working with arts education and arts organizations, youth development organizations, creative youth development organizations, schools, and after-school youth programming.

I do not qualify for this prize.

We are qualified for this prize because our target population is youth from all gender spectrums. We are driven to support them in their wellness within and beyond the school system so they lead healthy, meaningful, and fulfilling lives. We will use The Pozen Social Innovation Prize to advance our solution by channeling the funds towards the Curriculum Incubator in order to build out a curriculum deck of culturally affirming and responsive mental health arts curriculum. We will also use a portion of the funds for networking opportunities, and the marketing and branding of ArtWell.