Navi, a digital wellness app co-designed with teens and built specifically for their needs, first launched in 2025 in select communities in New York, Pennsylvania, and Nevada before expanding to New Mexico in 2026. The organization celebrated its statewide New Mexico launch with an event in Taos in June, where the app became available free to all New Mexico teens ages 13 to 18 through funding from the New Mexico Health Care Authority's Behavioral Health Services Division.

After learning about New Mexico's staggering suicide rates and the significant gaps in mental health resources across the state, Navi's team knew they wanted to make New Mexico the focus of their first statewide expansion. The decision to begin in Taos reflects the broader challenges the state is working to address: limited access to care in rural communities, the needs of diverse populations, high rates of suicide, and the demand for scalable, equitable mental health solutions.

Founded by Julia Belt, Margaret Hines, and Dr. Jessica Schleider, Navi's long-term mission is to grow nationwide one state at a time, partnering with state agencies to fund free access for teens, with options designed to work in communities with limited internet connectivity.

Belt says Navi was created to address a growing crisis.

“Millions of young people are struggling right now, and the barriers to support are real: cost, distance, provider shortages, not knowing where to start, or sometimes obstacles that are simply out of their control. Teens deserve support that's convenient to reach in the moment they need it, on the personal devices where they already are. Navi meets them in that moment with a tool designed the way teens want it—immediate, judgment-free, and built alongside them, not for them.”

Belt's journey into mental health advocacy began with the devastating loss of her brother to suicide at age 24. In the wake of that loss, she founded Broglie Box , a mental health company that creates wellness care packages for people who want to support someone who is struggling but don't know what to say or do. Designed to remind recipients they aren't alone, the boxes soon found an unexpected audience when employers began purchasing them in bulk for their teams, transforming Broglie Box into a workplace mental health resource.

Margaret Hines, tech founder and investor, brings another personal connection to the mission. She is married to Kevin Hines, one of the few people to survive a suicide attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000. Kevin has since become an internationally recognized speaker, author, filmmaker, and advocate for suicide prevention.

Together, Belt and Hines wanted to expand their impact beyond workplaces and create a tool that could support young people before they reached a crisis point. That's when they partnered with Dr. Jessica Schleider, a clinical psychologist, intervention scientist, and associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University. Schleider, the founding director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health, is one of the world's leading researchers on evidence-based, single-session interventions for youth mental health.

“Navi's mission is not to replace therapy, but to expand access to science-backed mental health support that teens can use when and where they need it,” says Belt.

The platform is built on digital single-session interventions (SSIs) backed by more than a decade of research from Dr. Schleider and her team.

“Research has shown that these brief, targeted interventions can help reduce symptoms, increase help-seeking behaviors, and provide meaningful support in a scalable format,” says Schleider.

By bringing the rigor of academic research into real-world implementation, Navi was designed to give teens practical tools to navigate everyday challenges before they become overwhelming. Through short, self-guided activities, teens create personalized action plans around challenges such as school stress, friendships, emotions, and other life situations. Those plans are saved in their personal dashboard, and Navi sends reminders to help them follow through and use the strategies they developed.

The app is designed to provide in-the-moment support across a wide spectrum of needs: from everyday stressors to more serious concerns, including safety planning. Unlike many digital mental health tools, Navi is not a chatbot and does not use generative AI to interact with users. Every activity is designed by mental health experts and backed by research. AI is used only in a limited safety capacity to help identify potential concerns and connect teens with crisis resources and safety planning when needed.

“Navi is designed for all teens, not only those with a mental health diagnosis, because mental health challenges affect everyone, and early support can help teens build skills before they reach a crisis point,” says Belt.

The company's founders knew that reaching teens meant building something they would actually use and trust, and their approach was driven by a troubling reality: according to the CDC's NCHS Data Brief, one in three (34%) U.S. teens reports being bullied each year, yet fewer than half (44%) ever tell a trusted adult or school official.

“By involving teens in every stage of development, Navi was designed to be a safe, accessible resource that young people feel comfortable turning to before they reach a crisis point,” says Belt.

When they decided to launch the statewide initiative in New Mexico, Navi's team spent time with teens in Taos, who helped shape the app's development, content, messaging, and local launch. Hines describes the approach as the Youth Advisory Model.

“This isn't feedback. It is co-ownership in implementation to make sure we're giving teens something that's evidence-based and that they actually want and will use,” Hines says.

Teens say that approach matters. “What I like about being a Navi Advisor is that my advice is actually taken seriously, and I can see changes that I want right in the app,” said Elia Hurtado. Anthony Suazo added, “My favorite thing about Navi is that it actually gives real advice from teens here in New Mexico.”

Nick Boukas, director of the New Mexico Health Care Authority's Behavioral Health Services Division, said, “We're starting in Taos because the community asked for more support after a period marked by significant loss, but communities across New Mexico have similar needs, and the goal is for this app to be available to any teen in the state. Everyone matters, and all teens deserve the same opportunities to get help, regardless of where they live.”

The early results in New Mexico are shaping what comes next. As Hines puts it, "This is the difference we’ve built at Navi. Too often, young people in crisis don't know where to turn or how to ask for help. Navi puts that lifeline directly in their hands and closes the gap between a teen in distress and the help that can save their life."