As the province and country continue to reopen, a new Saskatchewan text-based service wants people to know there are numerous mental health and wellness supports available to them.
The service, called Be SaskWell, is aimed at helping people with reopening anxieties post-COVID-19 restrictions.
However, the app does help individuals looking for mental health supports beyond just the pandemic.
Tracy Risling, an associate professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Regina and research lead with Be Saskwell, says many people are not aware of all the different mental health supports that are out there. The app, Risling said, is designed to help close that gap.
The program runs over the span of 10 weeks and Risling says they just finished their 10-week pilot cycle and now the service has launched its first official 10-week cycle.
“It’s an easy text signup to join and then it delivers 10 weeks of digital mental and wellness resources, and it’s really customizable to fit people’s needs and what they’re looking for,” Risling said on Monday.
“We’re checking in and just making sure how people are doing, and offering them the ability to connect to services we otherwise probably have never heard of, myself included,” said Tyler Moss, the community and advisory board lead at Be Saskwell.
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Moss adds it’s been an interesting and unique process to see the service come together, as all the different resources have been populating on the app and then become accessible to those that need them.
The research project was made possible thanks to a team of partners across the country, including the University of Saskatchewan, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Memotext.
Risling says the program is planning on growing its service in order to help reach more people. The organization is also looking to gather more information on to how it can be improved moving forward.
Those interested in signing up for the app can text JOIN to 759355, call 1-855-237-5934, or visit the website.
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