Boys Town’s revamped mental well-being app

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Boys Town National Hotline has designed a new tool to improve mental well-being. It’s called “Your Life Your Voice.” It’s a free smartphone app that complements its website.

Users can track changes in their mood over time.

“They can take pictures. They can record videos of themselves or something like that,” the hotline’s director, Oscar Gonzalez, explained.

The app launched a decade ago, but the new version has had a facelift. Gonzalez said the app is an ongoing investment.

“It’s only when you stop and realize there’s a trend here,” Gonzalez said.

There are videos online and in the app that show you how to deal with these emotions.

“We want to make sure it’s relevant and up-to-date,” he said. “The tools and guidance are updated based on what’s happening in the world right now.”

Identifying the problem is the first step to solving it.

“It works well alone, but it really shines in pairs.”

The latest figures show that fewer calls have been reported to the Boys National Hotline than in recent years.

In 2021, approximately 124,000 telephone and internet connections were recorded.

In 2023, approximately 111,000 of them were received. This is approximately 13,000 fewer contacts.

However, separate from the hotline is the Your Life Your Voice website. During the same years, the Your Life Your Voice website has seen more than 25% more traffic.

“We understand that today’s youth use a variety of methods. It used to be phone calls. That was the only mechanism. Then email came along, when email came along. So we wanted to make sure that we had an app that gave them a set of tools to help them navigate their daily lives.”

Both the app and the website offer 24/7 technical support.

Those using the app can migrate all of their data to the new version. The Apple version is available now. We’re told an Android version is coming soon.