As mental health continues to be a taboo subject within the African- American community, there are platforms that are helping to push the culture forward when it comes to self-care. The Black Mental health Alliance, Hollywood actress Taraji P. Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, and Beam Community are all outlets geared towards helping end the stigma of the African-American mental health experience. And now we have Elevate, the app.
The Elevate app, launched in February of this year, was created by three Black millennial men, who could not bear to see the number of people who suffer from mental health issues continue to rise. Aaron Warrick, Greg Wilson, and Danté Wade, friends who graduated from Lincoln University together, made the decision to put action behind the conversation of mental health over a year ago.
“We all go through situations and stressors. When I did, I would call Danté or Greg or they would call me to talk and vent,” Aaron explains about the early conception of Elevate; which began with a call to Danté about wanting to leave his then job. “We were our own therapists for each other… we would send inspirational content or bible scriptures to help uplift each other,” Aaron further explains. What each of the men witnessed was that their own form of therapy sessions worked for them and that is when they realized it could work for others. “Deep down, each of us have a desire to help. We started small but quickly realized the level of impact Elevate could make,” Wade explains.
As someone who never acknowledged how mental health has played a role in my life, I have seen a shift in how African-Americans are spotlighting their own battles. From panel events to short films, to books, our community seems to be having a much needed moment on the discussion of our self-care. “Now is the perfect time for Elevate, because the conversation is happening unlike previous generations. We are in a time where people in our community are open, vulnerable, and speaking their truth. Elevate is here to bolster that momentum, so people can find the healing they need,” Wade explains, expanding on the need for an app such as theirs.
Elevate has developed six key features to help improve self-care:
Daily Elevate of the Day: Get your day going with Over 800 specific inspirational passages on a variety of topics at your fingertips daily.
Self-Improvement Challenges: Improve daily living and healthy habits with hundreds of engaging self-care challenges.
Interactive Motivational Content: Elevate is equipping people to overcome adversity and manifest their best selves with bite-sized pieces of wisdom, guidance, and inspiration. Transform your life with inspirational content from wellness professionals and success coaches.
Engage in a Safe space: Join a community of like-minded individuals and engage in meaningful conversations around your topic of interest. Inspire each other with your life’s testaments and experiences.
Progress Tracking: Elevate app provides a great way to promote growth and improvement by allowing you to monitor the progress of your habits and offer suggestions on how to improve upon it.
Personalized Profiling: Elevate utilizes analytical data to enhance the user experience by personalizing user profiles, filtering and sorting daily inspirational and self-care content based on user preference, progress, and goals.
It is the customization that sets Elevate apart in the digital age. “We lead by example, community is number one,” Greg says about Elevates’ ability to scale. On the direction of Elevate in years to come, Aaron says, “we won’t just be an app but a global lifestyle brand.” A direction needed in ending the stigma and excelling the conversation on mental health. At this moment, Elevate is equipping people to overcome adversity and manifest their best selves with bite-sized pieces of wisdom, guidance, and inspiration.
Download the app today!
