One Smile Effect
Founder & Director
When COVID-19 hit Turkey, I saw how uncertainty and isolation negatively impacted youth mental health. According to research, nearly 50% of teens felt anxious or depressed during quarantine, but only 2 out of 5 asked for help. My findings motivated me to connect young people and foster social togetherness amongst them, so I founded One Smile Effect, Turkey’s first youth-led mental health organization.
Over time, 100 volunteers from 20 countries decided to join my cause. We embraced our diversity and worked towards a common goal, which brought different perspectives and experiences to the table, helped us mitigate a widespread issue more effectively, and made us attain a global vision. Our initiatives have impacted over 3,000 young people from 60 countries, and we are just getting started!
7 Cups
Verified Listener
In August 2020, I began volunteering at 7 Cups, the world’s biggest online mental health platform, as a trained and verified listener. Since then, I have provided emotional support to 133 teens over 266 online chats. I have also completed 24 listener training courses and received 23.700 cheers.