Exploring Mental Health Through Data – Thank You to Our Incredible Volunteer Team

A National Effort for Mental Health Innovation

In April 2025, DataPost was proud to participate in the Converge: Data for Good National Datathon—a collaborative, Canada-wide event focused on advancing mental health care through data innovation. Organized by Data for Good in partnership with Converge Mental Health, the Datathon brought together teams from across the country to analyze real-world datasets and uncover insights that could help shape more supportive, effective mental health systems.

The event encouraged volunteers to apply their data skills for social good, and we were thrilled to see several DataPost volunteers step up to the challenge.

Highlighting Archana Senthil’s Contributions

Among our team, Archana Senthil stood out for her dedication, depth of analysis, and forward-thinking approach. Over the course of the Datathon, she built a comprehensive and technically rich exploration of data from Guarding Minds Canada and Mental Health Research Canada.

Her project involved three key components:

1. Exploratory Data Analysis & Mapping Archana created demographic visualizations and interactive geographic maps to show how survey responses varied across Canada. These visual tools revealed age distributions, income levels, education trends, and gender dynamics in relation to workplace mental health, helping make complex data more accessible.

   
   

2. Text Analysis of Open-Ended Feedback Using natural language processing tools like spaCy and NLTK, Archana analyzed thousands of open-ended responses about employees’ experiences with mental health in the workplace. She created visual word clouds, conducted topic modeling using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), and performed sentiment analysis using VADER to quantify the emotional tone of responses. The result was a data-backed look into how Canadians perceive their employers’ mental health support—complete with emotional insights and recurring themes.
   

3. Building Tools for Future Use

   Archana didn’t stop at analysis. She built the backend for a semantic search tool using FAISS and Sentence Transformers, designed to allow users to interact with mental health documents more intuitively. Her app integrates this with a Streamlit interface, laying the foundation for future tools that can aid policymakers, researchers, and the public in exploring mental health data more effectively.

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Gratitude to Our Volunteer Team

We’re deeply grateful to Archana for her time, technical expertise, and thoughtful contribution. Her work not only demonstrated outstanding skill but also reflected a strong commitment to using data for public good. You can connect with Archana in her LinkedIn page here:  Archana Senthil 

We also want to thank the rest of the dedicated volunteers who participated in this event:

Nick Shevelov, Corey Yang-Smith, Dena Townsend, Alex Wesch, Gaurav Tamhane, Shiwani Sharma, Yuhao Huang, and other contributors who supported the team throughout the Datathon.

Thanks to the Organizers

Finally, a big thank you to Data for Good and Converge Mental Health for organizing this national initiative and bringing attention to the power of data in driving mental health innovation.

At DataPost, we believe that open data has the power to fuel change—and events like this show just how much can be achieved when people come together with purpose.

Let’s keep pushing forward. 🚀