MCPS launched a new wellness app in February called Stronger Student to support students’ mental health by providing easy access to various resources and support. The idea was formulated by MCPS alumni Anika Seth, Kathryn Lalonde, and Aviva Bechky, from Montgomery Blair High School’s class of 2021, and later developed in partnership with MCPS leadership. 

“The ethos guiding this tool is a product made by students, for students,” the MCPS Stronger Student app states.

The app allows users to access crisis hotlines, physical and mental health resource pages, confidential report pages, and student rights information pages. 

Upon selecting a resource, the user is taken to a page with various ways to contact said resource, including directly calling the number associated with their issue. Stronger Student offers many resources to students, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the MCPS Waymaking video series, The Trevor Project, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, and the County Crisis Center.

The app gives students direct access to these resources in an organized and easy-to-access way. Students will no longer have to search MCPS websites to access resources. Instead, students can download an app that will provide them with a “one-stop-shop” for support resources. 

“We recognize that the sheer quantity of information available can be overwhelming. This application is intended to offer a one-stop-shop approach to accessing crisis management tools, long-term resources, in-school support systems, and reporting forms,”  the MCPS Stronger Student app states. 

The organization of the app also contributes to its user-friendliness.

“The layout is pretty [simple]…you can easily navigate between the different headings,” an anonymous junior said. 

In addition to support resources, Stronger Student also gives the user direct access to the MCPS Waymaking video series that focuses on mental health and wellbeing resources.

There is no cost, and the resources available to students are free of any login requirements. Users remain anonymous while using the app and its resources unless they file a report, in which case user information will be required but remain confidential. Stronger Student is available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play and is currently available in both English and Spanish, more languages are coming to the app soon. 

In short, Stronger Student provides students with helpful resources and an easy way to access them. 

“[Students] may not have access to a therapist…[students] might need an easy access to a resource and this could give them an easy access to resources…or people to talk to like a hotline,” an anonymous junior said.