Go Thrive Go is the brainchild of Nina Mistry. As a crisis line counsellor at the Toronto Rape and Crisis Center, Nina saw firsthand how survivors of sexual assault struggle for years with flashbacks, anxiety, depression and more. Trapped in a vicious cycle, they become vulnerable to other types of abuse. While offering peer counselling, Nina learnt about the long-term impacts assault and abuse have on a survivor’s physical, mental, financial and professional life.

Sexual assault is the only violent crime in Canada and the world that is not on the decline. Globally, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men are abused every year before age 15. Even though this problem is growing exponentially, very few digital resources are available to help this vulnerable community.

Working the crisis line, at the end of a 20-minute call, she often felt frustrated that there wasn’t anything more she could do to help them through their trauma. That’s when the idea of Go Thrive Go – a self-therapy mobile app for survivors, was born.

Go Thrive Go is being developed with the feedback of survivors and the guidance of psychotherapists. It aims to serve survivors in their moments of crisis when they cannot access a therapist or cannot afford one. Nina hopes this app will ease the burden on our overextended support systems and become an essential tool in a survivors tool kit.