A mental health companion for every young person in New Hampshire.

The proposal in five lines.

• What this is. A progressive web app (PWA) — accessible via any browser, installable to any home screen, no app store required — serving New Hampshire youth ages 11-18+, their parents and caregivers, and educators and youth-serving professionals across the state.
• What it does. Delivers mood tracking, journaling, coping tools, gamification, and a geo-located NH resource directory to youth. Provides parents with tailored guidance and optional (youth-consented) visibility into their child's wellness. Gives educators classroom-ready tools, trusted-person connections, and community event listings.
• What it does not do. Provide clinical therapy, counseling, or medical advice. Host peer-to-peer chat or social features. Use an AI chatbot. Collect data it doesn't need — no upfront profiling, no mandatory check-ins, no ads.
• Phase 1 focus. Core youth experience (check-in, journal, coping tools, gamification, resource directory, crisis safety net), parent platform, educator platform, COPPA-compliant age tiers, and PWA infrastructure including push notifications. All content sourced from vetted partner organizations — YouthWell curates, never creates from scratch.
• Open decisions. Six items that require client input before final scoping: AI personalization framing, keyword alert parent notification protocol, peer support deferred scope, GYAC active role definition, 7-year content partner identity, and virtual pet feature inclusion in Phase 1.

New Hampshire youth have the tools. They don't have a home for them.

Rates of anxiety, depression, and crisis-level distress among New Hampshire youth have grown consistently over the past decade. Resources exist — hotlines, therapists, school counselors, community programs — but they are scattered, inconsistently accessible, and designed for a generation that didn't grow up with a phone in their pocket.

The young people who need help most are often the least likely to ask for it. The parents trying to support them often don't know what to say or where to point. The educators who see them every day lack quick-reference tools designed for the school environment.

YouthWell NH's answer is not another hotline or another pamphlet. It is a comfort companion in your pocket — always available, never judgmental, and built with the young person as the hero of the story.

A privacy-first mental health companion, built as a PWA.

YouthWell is a progressive web app — a single codebase that works like a native app on iOS and Android, installs to the home screen, supports push notifications, and requires no app store download. One link, shared by a school, a counselor, or a trusted adult, reaches any young person on any device.

How content reaches users

YouthWell does not create original content. It is a curated aggregator: the platform surfaces, organizes, and personalizes content from vetted partner organizations. Three integration types make this work:

• →

  Deep Link

  A direct route from YouthWell into a partner's specific resource page, bypassing their home page navigation. The user stays in context, never hunts through an unfamiliar website. No licensing required.

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  Content Feed

  Partner content — articles, exercises, audio, video — delivered inside the YouthWell app via API or licensing agreement. The experience stays native; the content comes from the partner's library. Requires a content agreement or API access.

• ⚡

  API Integration

  Real-time data exchange with a partner system. Used for crisis resources (988, Crisis Text Line, Trevor Project) and for School Pulse's school-specific content. The most integrated option; reserved for partners with documented APIs and active partnership programs.

Content integrity

No scraped directories. No Google results. No ads. Every resource in the directory is manually verified — license or accreditation confirmed, physical address and phone number checked, website authenticated. Users can flag suspicious resources from within the app, and YouthWell runs periodic link-health checks. The app also teaches users (especially parents) how to identify treatment brokers and predatory mental health advertisers.

One app. Three distinct experiences.

Youth, parents, and educators have fundamentally different needs and different relationships with the same young person. YouthWell serves all three from a shared infrastructure, but each platform is designed as a distinct experience.

The keyword safety net

Journal entries and typed input are scanned for terms associated with crisis, self-harm, or abuse. When concerning language is detected, the app surfaces in-app crisis resources immediately — without interrupting the experience or requiring a check-in gate. Tier 4 content (suicidal ideation, self-harm, abuse disclosure) triggers the full safety net: in-app resources, 988, Crisis Text Line, and The Trevor Project for LGBTQ+ youth.

Whether the keyword alert also notifies a parent or trusted adult — particularly for the 13-17 age tier — is an open client decision. See Open Questions.

Three tiers. Different rules for data, privacy, and parental access.

Youth privacy and parental oversight exist in direct tension. The three age tiers resolve that tension differently depending on the young person's developmental stage and the legal requirements in place.

Minimal PII, always

Signup requires only an email address. No upfront profiling — no "what are you dealing with?" questionnaire. SSO options (Google, Facebook) reduce friction. The app personalizes via usage signals: content browsed, mood patterns over time, journal keywords. Users are never categorized by a question they answered at signup.

Seven decisions that define how YouthWell feels.

• 1

  Youth is the hero of the story

  Design language, copy tone, and content selection treat the young person as capable, not fragile. The app is a companion, not a clinician. It celebrates progress without dramatizing struggle.

• 2

  Check-in is never a gate

  Every screen is reachable without completing a mood check-in. The check-in prompt is ambient — a gentle pulsing indicator in the corner that can be ignored, snoozed, or tapped at any time. "Before you go" prompts catch users on exit. Passive signals (content browsed, time of day) provide wellness data even when users skip explicit check-ins entirely.

• 3

  Content-first home screen

  The home screen surfaces content immediately — not a check-in wall or an empty dashboard. A young person opening the app at 11pm with no intention of engaging with wellness tools should still find something worth their time.

• 4

  Gamification that celebrates honestly

  XP, streaks, badges, and milestones reward genuine engagement. Streak comparisons use positive framing: "You've checked in longer than the longest baseball game!" Milestones: 7-day, 30-day, 100-day, 365-day. The system never punishes a broken streak. It also guards against gaming — verified check-ins (QR at a therapist office, location-based) earn more XP than manual taps.

• 5

  Personalization happens silently, never by interrogation

  Content tiers (Tier 1 Everyday Wellness through Tier 4 Crisis) are inferred from mood patterns, content browsed, journal keywords, and time of year. Users never self-select a category. 70% of content is universal; 30% surfaces based on these signals. AI powers inference, but never interacts with users directly — no chatbot, by firm client decision.

• 6

  Privacy is architecture, not a policy

  Minimum PII, COPPA compliance from day one, configurable sharing toggles per data type, keyword scanning that surfaces resources without notifying anyone by default, and a clear distinction between what youth share with parents versus what they share with a chosen trusted adult. Privacy decisions are baked into the data model, not bolted on later.

• 7

  App data is not the recovery

  Parents and educators are actively taught that check-in data is one signal among many — it can be gamed, and a positive dashboard does not mean a young person is thriving. YouthWell's parent content explicitly addresses this: "The check-in isn't the recovery." Honest use is rewarded; the system is designed to make gaming unrewarding over time.

Phase 1 in. Phase 2+ later. Nothing left ambiguous.

The features below are organized by category. Each shows its phase and which user groups it serves. Phase 1 ships at launch, Phase 2+ is planned post-launch. This matrix is the input to the Level of Effort estimate and budget.

A working app, not a wireframe.

The prototype is a fully functional Next.js PWA with real state management, mood tracking, gamification, and live crisis detection logic. It covers all three platforms: Youth, Parent, and Educator.

Vetted sources, not a content factory.

YouthWell does not create original content. Every piece of content in the app — articles, exercises, audio, videos, resource listings — comes from a vetted partner organization. The table below shows the Phase 1 partner targets, their integration type, and current status.

One partner still unconfirmed

Trisha mentioned a seven-year content partner relationship on the May 7 call. The identity of this partner is still unresolved. This relationship may carry significant content or integration implications for Phase 1 scope. Client confirmation needed before final scoping.

Six decisions that need client input before final scope is locked.

These are not unknowns we have overlooked — they are decisions that belong to YouthWell, not Orases. They have been surfaced here because they affect Phase 1 scope, cost, and design direction. Each can be resolved in a single conversation.