See a need, fill a need. For Great Valley High School students Shraddha Arvind and Celine Cui, that need meant providing a clear route of resources and information for victims/survivors of sexual assault.
As young women interested in the medical field, the pair were shocked to learn about the lack of coverage about SANEs — who they are, what they do, and how they operate. SANEs, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, also known as forensic nurses, are trained specifically to conduct post-assault/rape kits as well as to testify in court for these cases.
Thus came the idea of HerPath, a free application that consolidates all publicly available information from hotlines to SANE locators that victims need into one spot. They worked to make an overly complicated process less traumatizing and difficult for those who have already experienced enough trauma.
Arvind and Cui spent countless hours designing and planning the app, including hand-entering hundreds of hospitals, crime victims’ centers, and women’s health clinics. Hospitals had to be contacted to confirm their SANE statuses, and they also addressed many legal issues with the help of nonprofits such as the Women’s Law Project.
Throughout the journey, they received feedback from nurses, police officers, and other first responders to streamline the app from a legal and first-responder perspective to make it the best it could be.
“As a whole, this process took us a little under a year, but through the easy and the hard, we have loved every second of it,” said the HerPath co-founders.
Overall, they hope that HerPath reduces stigma and intimidation surrounding conversations and reporting of sexual assaults and/or rape. With the app freshly on the market, they have reached around 100 downloads, with feedback saying that the app is easy to use and incredibly helpful.
The next step in their process after more promotion, is to expand HerPath to states beyond the Pennsylvania region. They aim to continue working on the app throughout college as they finish their final year of school at Great Valley.
“Shraddha and I are incredibly passionate about this project, and it is something we will continue to dedicate our time to,” said Cui. “We firmly believe that a resource like this should be available to everyone, regardless of location.”
The pair expressed gratitude to the patchwork of people who helped them along the way, ranging from their mentor Blake Emmanuel to local first responders.
“Presenting this app to these people has been so rewarding, and we are eternally grateful for their support throughout this journey,” they said.
Currently, Arvind and Cui are working on reaching out to more hospitals in the state and hope to get colleges to incorporate this one-of-a-kind resource in their campuses.
Download HerPath today and see what these Chester County students created with their passion to help others.
