June 2025 Community Update!

Dear Community,

I hope all is well! 

We’ve been doing a lot of work on the local section (7cups.com/local). A lot of hard work has been put into getting shelters, food pantries, faith orgs, etc. referrals to people that are looking for local support.

Another focus area has been on the app. It’ll soon have quoted replies in chat and some other elements that will make it easier to use. Thank you for all of the help and feedback on the site and app. Every change makes it better for our community.

The last big thing I’ve been working on is a video called Kayla’s Story. It is about the process of looking for help on 7 Cups and then becoming a listener. It focuses on the process of becoming a wounded healer. My son is the lead on it. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all hopefully soon! 

Thank you all for doing all the great work you do! I love that anyone, anywhere, can find compassion and support. What gifts you all give.

Thank you!

H

As we step into June, many of us are welcoming warmer days and the vibrant energy of summer. For our global community, this time of year often brings a renewed sense of connection and the joy of longer days. Do you have anything you're excited about this month? I’d love to hear it in the replies!

A few things from me:

First, with the numerous features we have, there's a lot to absorb. No matter where you are on your Cups journey—whether you're a newbie or have years of experience—there's always something new to learn.

To help with that, I've created an AMA (Ask Me Anything) space for you to get information. Whether you have navigation questions, need clarification on safety practices, are looking for volunteer opportunities, or just need links to resources, this is the place to ask!

Bookmark this link for whenever you need some help, and someone from our lovely community will hop in to assist. Everyone is welcome to pitch in and reply if you know the answer! We've already seen great examples of teamwork from some of our familiar forum members, and we love to see it!

Secondly, join this group celebration thread: When’s your Cupsversary?

Thirdly, it’s Pride Month!! (Check out what’s in store here). Huge thanks to EmotionsListener for facilitating!

And lastly, we’ve made some adjustments to our administrative coverage. Moving forward, the domain-specific roles led by CheeryMango (forums) and EvelyneRose (quality) will be phased out for the time being. These domains will continue to be overseen by our dedicated Ambassadors. Additionally, our Community Managers, Hope and Obs, will still be here to support you, though their hours will be reduced. We have also dialed back on the listener side of the Community Moderator program. What this means is they will not be observing the listener rooms, but they will still be present and can be called in via the Emergency Mod form. All CMods will continue to support teens and can also be reached via the Emergency Mod form.

Please understand that change is a natural part of any journey, and while these shifts may be difficult at first, our commitment to supporting you remains as strong as ever. Our community has seen countless changes throughout the years, and we are nothing if not resilient. I'm truly proud of us for rolling with the circumstances. During this transition, I ask you to please be patient with these wonderful leaders regarding response times. We'll all be doing our best to serve you within the limits of our bandwidth. If you have any questions about coverage or clarification of any points of contact, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Thanks for your understanding.

Hope

We have two new leaders! MarinaLexi is now the lead for the Academy Outreach Team. Her role is very important in ensuring the team runs well and we are able to reach potential trainees who may not see academy opportunities through alerts alone. Secondly, we have a new project agent taking over the Tulip Awardees @Zaxoosh. Check out his first post here. 

Moreover, Carnegie Mellon University recruited U.S.-based adult participants from 7 Cups for a paid research study focused on improving listener training through simulated conversations. Thanks to our community, all seats for both new and experienced listeners were filled. If you’re still interested, you can express interest and join the waiting list by filling out this form. 

Lastly, it has been mostly maintenance on the academy initiatives front. We are actively recruiting CDM focused mentors, if interested please apply here. 

Obs

It was a Month of Mental Health Awareness, and I appreciate and am grateful for all the efforts, compassion, and support everyone shared in the group chats and forums. You all make this community the safest space to be heard and supported. 

On the group support leadership front, we onboarded a handful of room supporters and a couple of chatroom moderators. Thank you to them for stepping up and making group chats an inclusive and safe space for all to interact with each other compassionately. 

And, a huge thank you to everyone who continued their efforts and participation on various fronts, including hosting and supporting sharing circle sessions, mission listener support chat revival efforts, and supporting teens going through the transition period, guiding listeners to be verified, and so on. It was a productive month for all these initiatives, and you all were a huge help. 

SoulfullyAButterfly

This month, we have been working behind the scenes to improve listener quality and more. We are also focused on introducing a new initiative in the community called Growth Circles. Growth Circles are inspired by Huddles and other successful therapeutic features in our community. They will tie our forums, group chats, assessments, and more to help support individuals in-depth while allowing them to create supportive connections along the way.

In light of this new initiative, we have also decided to work on upgrading our Exploration Garden room. This space has been a powerful space for in-depth exploration. We will be turning the space into a closed group with 24/7 access to those who get a badge. This space will be closely monitored by our admin team and we will continue to ensure safety and the therapeutic environment and culture the community has built.

You can expect announcements for both Growth Circles and the Exploration Garden during the first week of June.