Denver teens develop app helping struggling peers get connected to resources

Technology has given us TVs, the internet and now, AI, but it's also empowering young people in Denver get connected through a new app called Power of One .

“When we were putting this project together, the community partners envisioned a way for youth to connect themselves and to connect other youth that might be struggling to the really phenomenal array of amazing community services that we have in northeast Denver,” said David Bechhoefer, project director at the Youth Violence Prevention Center-Denver.

The Youth Violence Prevention Center – Denver (YVPC-D) is an academic-community collaboration based out of University of Colorado Boulder and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Program leaders partnered with community agencies in northeast Denver and a group of local students (who call themselves the Game Changers) to develop the app.

It's similar to Safe2Tell , the state's youth-centered harm prevention and intervention resource which allows students make anonymous tips if they see something suspicious that could harm the community.

Data from the Colorado Attorney General's Office shows more than 1,800 reports were made to Safe2Tell in August, a 23% increase compared to the same time last year.

The most common issues were suicide, bullying, and school safety concerns.

However, Safe2Tell tips get routed to law enforcement. The Power of One app differs in that non-emergency reports get sent to peer navigators instead, who then connect students to the proper resources for things like food insecurity, bullying, or mental health support — just to name a few examples.

“Whether it be, 'My parents just lost their job and they can't pay their bills, I need a job,' this app can connect you to resources like that. Or 'I'm bored, I don't really know what to do in the community.' In the app, there's an app where it's like community events, and it redirects you to the Montbello community schedule,” explained Kaliah Yizar, one of the peers who gave feedback on the app’s development alongside her friend, Keshon Nunn.

Yizar and Nunn both grew up and went to school in northeast Denver and said this app is much needed in a community where many are scared to ask for help.

"There's this analogy where, instead of throwing a life raft in, we just prevent [struggling youth] from going into the river at all. And that's where really you nip it in the bud,” said Nunn.

"I think this app overall is a really good resource that would have helped me, helped my peers, and help a lot of youth now with issues where they just don't feel like they have any other option," added Yizar.

The goal now? Start spreading the word about the app at northeast Denver schools and with community organizations.

The app’s creators hope to expand the northeast Denver pilot program on a national scale in the future.

“Quite frankly, I can't wait for this app to be, I guess, a guardrail to help so many youth stay on the right path in life, and to put them on the right track before they can be distracted with anything else going on in the community, anything else that can distract them from their future,” said Yizar.

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