Boys Town app revamped to improve mental wellbeing

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Boys Town National Hotline designed a new tool to improve mental wellbeing. It’s called “Your Life Your Voice.” It’s a smartphone application that’s free and complements the website.

Users can track their moods over time.

“They can take pictures. They can take videos of themselves or something,” explained hotline director, Oscar Gonzalez.

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

“Only until you kind of take a step back to really understand, ‘oh, there’s a trend to this.’” Gonzalez said.

Online and in the app there are resource videos for how to manage those emotions.

“We do want to make sure it’s relevant and up to date,” he said. “The tools and tips are updated to what’s happening in the world today.”

Identifying a problem is the first step in solving it.

“It works well from an individual but really shines as partnered activity.”

The latest numbers show the Boys National Hotline has received fewer calls compared to recent years.

In 2021, it received about 124,000 contacts on the phone and web.

In 2023, it received about 111,000. It’s about 13 thousand fewer contacts.

However, separate from the hotline is the Your Life Your Voice website. In those same years, the Your Life Your Voice website saw more than 25% more traffic.

“We understand that youth today use different modalities. It used to be called in. That was the only mechanism. Then email when email came out. So we wanted to make sure we had an application that provided them a tool set to help them navigate their daily activities.”

Both the app and website also have 24/7 human support options.

People using the app can transfer all their data to the new version. The Apple version is available now. We’re told the Android version is coming soon.