Being a college student means constantly being stressed out over classes, family, finances, and anything else you can think of. Supportiv offers an outlet for all of these issues by offering anonymous peer support on any topic.

As a college student, there are many times where basic needs such as food and sleep go ignored. There’s a vicious cycle in which we get so stressed out that our mental health suffers which leads to doing worse in the things we were stressed out about, which then leads to mental health getting even worse.

For me, it kept going and going until I started to learn how important it was to take care of my mental health. After experiencing the stress firsthand and witnessing so many of my peers around me with their own unique stories and obstacles also suffer from mental illness, I decided to go into mental health advocacy. I learned that half of all college students report being so stressed out at some point that they didn’t feel like they could function. However, it is not possible for us to get help all of the times we need it. Many of us are in school full-time and outside of that, we have jobs, extracurriculars, homework, and so much more. Many do not have the time to get help, the money to afford it, or access to places that do not have ridiculously long wait times.

Supportiv is an app where peers can anonymously talk with each other in groups that are created in real-time based on the similarity of the topics each peer wants to talk about. When first entering the app, you write about whatever struggle you want to discuss, and you are paired with a moderator and other peers who want to discuss the same issue. All of the conversations are completely confidential because each person is anonymous, so you don’t have to worry about facing any stigma or any personal information being compromised. The moderators are trained in guiding conversations and can provide relevant content and resources to help make you feel better. The app is only 15 cents a minute, and you only pay for the time you use.

Supportiv is accessible at all hours everyday, so you are able to reach out at 2 AM when you’re stressed out about studying for your exam. Supportiv offers a safe virtual room in which you can talk about anything you want judgement-free and get resources and advice to help you feel better. You are also able to help your peers feel better by offering them advice as well.