New Hip Hope Hooray App to support child and family mental health

The new Hip Hope Hooray app has been developed by groundbreaking voluntary organisation Resilio, which was set up over a year ago to grow hope and resilience for individuals, communities and organisations by training teachers and parents to deliver Hopeful Minds training in schools.

With a wealth of experience and commitment to supporting mental health locally, Resilio have since developed a number of relevant supporting programmes, including Hope Ambassadors and Hope Matters.

Funding was secured from the Public Health Agency under the Protect Life Suicide Prevention strategy to deliver Hope programmes in schools, but Covid 19 and the lockdown made this impossible.

Recognising that the message of hope was now more important than ever, the organisation responded with resilience, redirecting efforts to the development of a mobile phone App. to support families during the uncertainty.

Hope facilitators transferred their knowledge and enthusiasm from classroom to screen by producing videos for each of the 12 interactive sessions, aimed at children.

Topics covered include: What hope is, why it’s important, how the brain works and the importance of having purpose. The sessions equip children and their families with knowledge and practical tools to apply to their own lives and experiences.

Additionally, each session contains a family challenge, keeping fun at the centre of learning.

The App. also provides motivational video clips, activities and a number of helpline numbers, all easily accessible with a click.

As well as being an excellent resource for children, their families and carers, Hip Hope Hooray is a valuable resource for teachers to support the mental health of their young students.

Resilio also offer a range of training opportunities targeting schools, workplaces and communities, so hope can be shared to help build all our resilience in these changing times .

Marie Dunne, Director of Resilio said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to play our part in supporting families though these emotionally challenging times.

“Resilience and hope can grow even during the most difficult of times in our lives, when we have the knowledge, skills and tools to help us, and a helping hand when we need it.

“Given the impact that Covid19 is having on all our mental health, the ongoing uncertainty and the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, it is normal to feel overwhelmed and anxious in this current situation. It is important that we focus on things we can control and that we prioritise our wellbeing.”

Kathryn Goetzke, who founded iFred (International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression) and the Hopeful Minds programme, agreed.

“This is a very challenging time globally and we are excited for Northern Ireland once again leading the way to support the mental health of our children,” she said.

Resilio acknowledged the work of their facilitators, and extended a special appreciation to D4 Webdesign in association with Unity Training for their expertise in the professional development of the App.

The Hip Hope Hooray App is now available for download to help children and families to grow hope, build resilience and protect mental health.

The App has been developed for Android and iOS platforms so is available for download on Google Play as well as the Apple App Store. If you Search for ‘Hip Hope Hooray’ then look for the logo you can just download it.

After the download has been completed just register your basic details and your account will be activated after the authentication process has been verified by the system administrator.

For further information email: [email protected]