Welcome to
Compassion8Innovation
A nonprofit researching and building tools where compassion meets technology.
Our Mission
Foster compassion in innovation to solve real-world problems in our community. Create local programs that don't yet exist, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Our Story
Compassion8Innovation was born in the early stages of the pandemic, when we all moved from meeting in person to online and mental health challenges were rising rapidly.
In Bellevue, WA, Youth Link members had a storytelling session on AI by local entrepreneur Chad Oda. The immediate thought was: what if we had a mental health chatbot who could talk to youth like a youth — a non-binary, non-judgemental buddy?
We started learning how to ideate, write use cases, design technical architecture, and build software. We discovered that we could learn anything if we put our minds to it. Working in a team is fun. We can team up with anyone in the universe, build trust, share ideas, and build our future together.
Active Programs
Programs and projects currently running at Compassion8Innovation.
Mental Wellness Chatbot
He@lio
A youth-driven mental wellness chatbot that talks to teens like a teen — non-binary, non-judgemental, and built ground-up from youth input.
Meet He@lio
Academy Program · Jan – Jun 2026
Youth Link University
A six-month leadership and entrepreneurship program for Bellevue youth, run in partnership with Bellevue Youth Link. Weekly sessions, project work, and a special speaker series.
Program DetailsFeatured Research
The most recent white papers, articles, and reports from our research threads.
He@lio Chatbot Pilot Program — University of Washington Capstone
January 1, 2026· Joydeep Hazra, Brian Ho, Amber Lee, Casey Frizzell, Jaspreet Bhamipuri, Ko-Ching Lu, Rebecca Ko, Saba Ziadlou, Tim Joo, Trudy Xia, Veronica Lee
An active pilot program launched in January 2026 in collaboration with University of Washington Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) students as part of their Capstone project. The program evaluates He@lio's mental health support effectiveness across multiple stages — from initial deployment through iterative improvement — with findings to be published upon completion.
Project Sentinel: A Modular, Offline-First Edge AI Framework for Community Infrastructure Security and Environmental Monitoring
September 3, 2025· Brian Ho
A multi-year open research initiative designing, building, and validating a privacy-first, fully offline edge AI platform for under-resourced environments. Project Sentinel investigates whether modular, self-healing AI infrastructure can provide meaningful network security, environmental monitoring, and community resilience — running on low-cost hardware with no cloud dependency.
Get Involved
Three ways to support our work and engage with what we publish.
Donate
Support our research, programs, and youth initiatives. Tax-deductible.
Donate NowTake a Survey
Self-screening tools and research surveys helping us shape He@lio and other projects.
Take a SurveyRead Research
White papers, articles, and reports across AI, mental health, infrastructure, and more.
View ResearchOur Sponsors
Our Partners
