Averill Park schools launch access to mental health app

AVERILL PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Students at Averill Park Central School District have received an extra hand of support as the district launches access to a personal resources app. Called "HELPme," the app allows students to anonymously reach out for support, report concerns or threats and access mental health resources.

The Averill Park Central School District first announced access to the app in a letter to guardians on Feb. 28. Students in grades 4 through 12 at all five of the district's schools can access the app on school-issued Chromebooks. Parents of students in kindergarten to 12th grade can also get the app on their personal devices, the district told NEWS10.

With the app, students can explore wellness resources, including self-help tips, support services within the school or community and a crisis text line. The crisis line allows the user to connect with one of over 27,000 trained crisis counselors and is available 24/7, 365 days of the year.

The students can also text school personnel to request help or report a threat at any time. All users may also remain anonymous while using the app.

"While we encourage in-person interactions, we realize that not all students feel comfortable reporting a potential threat, bullying or harassment to a trusted adult," Superintendent James Franchini told NEWS10. "A recommended best practice is to have an anonymous reporting system in place so this fills a void that we have been trying to address for our school community for some time."

According to Franchini, the district hopes that the support app will help to provide a safer environment for students, staff and visitors. It is an issue that school districts across the country have been trying to tackle for years, he said, including Averill Park.

"The utilization of the HELPme app is a proactive approach to school safety and is a key component to our school culture and safety planning," Franchini told NEWS10.

As the district community continues to utilize the HELPme app, school officials can review the app's analytics to see what students are typically using it for. The analysis reports include which local resources were viewed, how many conversations have occurred with counselors and how many concern reports were received at each school building, Franchini told NEWS10.