Bloom

Welcome Chat for Bloombot

Inspiration

Taking part in the province's biggest women's hackathon inspired us to create a project that would give back to the community. Mental health is a topic which still faces a lot of stigma and is often overlooked. As we continue to face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies show women's mental health has taken the biggest toll. Our project aims towards providing easily accessible resources for women's well-being through these unforeseen times and onwards.

What it does

Bloom is a chrome extension with a number of readily available resources ranging from blogs, podcasts, yoga to cat videos that can put a smile on one's face - all in one area. The different sources allows women to branch out and learn more ways to connect with themselves and their inner peace. We also created a chat bot which provides coping skills, breathing techniques, and immediate help resources for anyone who may be feeling overwhelmed, anxious or stressed. Bloom is a chatbot on a widely-used platform like Facebook - used by millions of people daily - making it accessible to women who feel like they do not have the resources to reach out for mental health support. Our project also comes with a chrome extension that can take you to the Bloom support page no matter where you are on your browser!

How we built it

Using HTML for the chrome extension and ManyChat for the chatbot in Facebook Messenger.

Challenges we ran into

Our group started off with some challenges with how to start working on the vision we had for this project. However, through collaboration and the help of mentors we were able to make our vision come to life!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're extremely proud of the fact that we were able to produce a project that works against the taboo around women's mental health. Being a group of first-time hackathon participants, it is amazing that we got the opportunity to work towards a meaningful cause while expanding our skill sets. We believe this project is a step towards creating conversation and providing the accessibility needed for anyone struggling with mental health.

What we learned

While working on Bloom, we learned how to pitch our ideas and communicate effectively as a team. We also learned skills such as building a chrome extension with HTML and building a chatbot for a Facebook page. It was the first time any of us participated in a hackathon we gained a lot of valuable experience, both technical and interpersonal, for our future hackathons and projects!

What's next for Bloom

Bloom hopes to be taken to the next level with up to date resources as well as implementing a more hands-free approach, providing self-care reminders to check in on the users and initiate conversation for those who may be hesitant to seek help.