Walnut Creek, CA – JANUARY 3, 2022 – Neolth, a youth mental health tech startup on a mission to help teenagers manage stress through the development of coping skills, today announced joining forces with Bay Area Community Resources (BACR). The goal of this partnership is to increase access to mental health care services for students across the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.
The support, which will come in the form of an on-demand, personalized care and community through Neolth’s app, will help students build resilience through personalized relaxation techniques, social emotional learning practices, and increased emotional awareness.
"BACR has been a trusted partner in the community for more than four decades,” says Dr. Katherine Grill, Co-founder and CEO at Neolth. “Their staff deeply understands the needs of Bay Area students and schools. Neolth is thrilled to partner with them to integrate our digital solution into their ecosystem of care. This partnership demonstrates innovation in care delivery within schools, directly addressing the youth mental health crisis the Surgeon General recently warned of.”
Joan Binalinbing, Program Coordinator at BACR, has been working in Bay Area schools for years and saw firsthand the impact COVID had on students and staff alike. "I'm happy to hear about initiatives like Neolth expanding mental health resources to our students, especially amidst an ongoing pandemic," said Joan. She was introduced to the company in 2020 by one of Neolth's Student Ambassadors and now serves as key personnel for the BACR/Neolth partnership.
The partnership is a first-of-its kind and will strive to provide mental health support to students attending Bay Area schools. The collaboration will lead to an increase in access to care, focused on Tier 1 support, with the ultimate goal of reducing student stress and improving mental health. Current data shows that the typical student to counselor ratio in the state of California is 601:1. Through this partnership, Bay Area Schools will be able to reduce wait times for access to care as Neolth’s offering is available on-demand.
“Neolth’s partnership with BACR leads to on-the-ground and actionable transformation for youth mental health,” says Anish Srivastava, CEO and Founder of Telosity by Vinaj Ventures and key investor in Neolth. “This community should be the blueprint for other local areas; leaders stepping up and advocating for adolescent mental health is the way forward. It takes dedication and effort to make impactful changes and we are excited to see this program’s future successes.”
Beginning in January 2022, students within the BACR network will be encouraged to learn more and download the Neolth app to complement the services provided by the organization. Neolth will be available at the health centers of select BACR schools, where school staff will share the app with students. It will also be provided to students participating in BACR’s Discovering the Reality of Our Community (DROC) program. The pilot program for this initiative will take place from January to May, followed by a full rollout before the end of 2022.
Bay Area schools who would like to join this initiative should contact Khrystina Warnstadt, Outreach & Engagement Specialist at Neolth, via email to learn more and/or enroll their schools.
ABOUT NEOLTH
Neolth’s mission is to help students stress less, become part of a compassionate community of peers, and develop the life skills they need to thrive. Neolth is used by schools, youth and health organizations, who provide a solution to students as self-guided stress and mental health support. To learn more, please visit: https://www.neolth.com/
ABOUT BAY AREA COMMUNITY RESOURCES (BACR)
BACR’s mission is to promote the healthy development of individuals and families, encourage service and volunteerism, and help build community. BACR provides direct school- and community-based services, connecting volunteers with opportunities to best serve their communities, and building and strengthening all of the communities served so that community members and institutions can effect change. To learn more, visit: https://www.bacr.org/
ABOUT TELOSITY BY VINAJ VENTURES
The Telosity Fund was launched by Vinaj Ventures with a focus on investing in early stage companies offering both scalable and affordable digital mental wellbeing solutions for people between the ages of 10 and 24 years old. Committed to the success of their companies, The Telosity Fund developed a targeted ecosystem and subject matter expert approach to support portfolio companies beyond the capital that they invest. To learn more about the company or to apply to join its coveted Luminary Network and/or Youth Ambassador Program, please visit: https://www.telosity.co/
