Cranium-Connection (mental health app from Jen & Lola)

[jenPlusPlus]

Problem it solves:

1. Searching for mental health providers can be difficult and time-consuming to find a professional that serves your needs.

2. Others in your social circle may not understand your struggles. There is a need to create connection and community amongst those struggling with mental health issues.

How the problem is solved:

1. Data about mental health professionals in the Denver area will be scraped from other websites and aggregated for a comprehensive list.

2. Users will create profile about their mental health struggles and connect with others with the same struggles.

3. Support is provided for day-to-day issues through chat.

Technical challenges:

1. Finding the data we need. Common attributes among providers may be difficult to source (specialties, particular population they serve (LGBTQ, non-religious, etc), insurance acceptance)

2. Chat -- implementing websockets

[lolakoala]

MVP:

1. Data of professionals/providers - scraping
2. User profiles and the ability to search users by their selected conditions.
3. User-to-user chat - websockets
4. Search professionals/providers by insurance or specialty
5. User can favorite professionals or other users for easier reference in the future

Nice to Haves/Extensions:

1. A tools/resources component referencing outside resources for mental health (self-helpy stuff)
2. Emergency hotline contact (click one button to text a crisis counselor)
3. User can set reminders for medication/self care - would require scheduled push notifications, offline capabilities
4. Implement google maps api for searching professionals via location