How can we best transform the lives of youth affected by rheumatic diseases through Cassie + Friends?

This March, in recognition of juvenile arthritis awareness month and #WORDDay, we hosted the very first Cassie + Friends Hackathon to get creative and collaborative around community-driven solutions that answer the question “How can we best transform the lives of youth affected by rheumatic diseases through Cassie + Friends?”

To design our solutions, we brought together 12 diverse youth, parents, and healthcare professionals from across the country to discuss their unique experiences with childhood rheumatic disease and brainstorm tools that would have – and/or still could – make a meaningful difference for their own lives, their work, or for their loved ones.

Each team was tasked with designing a new youth-orientated program that they would later pitch to a panel of esteemed judges. Our participants came to the (virtual) table ready to roll up their sleeves and create something remarkable. To say we were impressed with the calibre of ideas would be an understatement – we were blown away and we can’t wait to share them with you:

 Team 1 (The Window Pains): Classroom Note-taking Support

Their Big Idea: To work with student services departments in schools to raise awareness of this problem and ultimately designate a student volunteer notetaker to anonymously provide notes to students in need.

• For many kids with rheumatic disease, the seemingly simple task of taking notes in class can be not so simple at all. 
• The pain of holding a pencil for hours on end while enduring a flare is commonly experienced and an issue that The Window Pains want to address. 
• Youth with rheumatic disease are often forced to miss class and left without study notes to review and succeed in their schooling

Team 2 (The Flare Bears): Mentor Matching Program 

Their Big Idea: Create an online platform that will connect participants in 3 ways: Patient to Patient, Parent to Parent and Family to Family, using matching criteria based on location, cultural values, age, diagnosis, etc.

• Like so many patients and parents in our community, this team knows the importance of connecting with other families navigating the childhood rheumatic disease journey. 
• From sharing tips to talking to someone who “just gets it”, they want to make sure that all families have the support they need. 
• To become a mentor, mentors must have at least one year of experience managing and navigating life with rheumatic disease.
• Leverage partnerships (ie. social workers, conversation techniques, etc.) to provide training to mentors.

Team 3 (Fever Pitches): Mental Health Partnerships

Their Big Idea: Create partnerships with chronic illness councillors to provide resources and benefits to all family members who are affected by a rheumatic disease (directly & indirectly).

• Living in a constant state of pain and feeling “different” can lead to anxiety and isolation for not just the affected child, but also the whole family.
• Cassie + Friends would provide direct access to long term mental health resources specific to your role with chronic illness (patient, parent, sibling, partner, etc) via cassieandfriends.ca
• Other partnership opportunities including mentorship, online chat rooms, call/text hotline

And the winning pitch was… Mental Health Partnerships! Though we could only award one pitch as the winner, each of these ideas has the potential to transform the lives of youth living with childhood rheumatic diseases – and we need your help to bring these life-changing ideas to life. If any of these ideas tug at your heartstrings the way that they do for us, please consider making a donation to Cassie + Friends. 

A big thank-you to everyone who worked with us to make the Hackathon a success: 

• to all of our teams for joining us for bringing your passion, energy, and creativity to our first-ever Hackathon! 
• to our mentors Kelly Atamanchuk, Brittany Barnes, Jennifer Wilson, and Kelsey Chomistek
• to our judges, Arif Jetha (Institute of Work & Health), Dr. Lori Tucker (BC Children’s Hospital) and David Porte (Cassie + Friends Board Chair). 
• and to our friends at Now of Work for brilliantly facilitating this special event.