The VR WellSpace project is about creating safe welcoming spaces in virtual reality where people experiencing emotional distress can find relief, escape and human connection based in peer support and best practices for crisis care. This presentation will feature discussion of our lived-experience driven eco-system development, prototype imagery, key mechanics, user experience and research parameters and gamification elements. Attendees will be invited to participate in simulive interactive voting on 2-3 core questions pertinent to the product and market. Current data shows that at least half of U.S. families (51%) experienced a mental-health related crisis during the past year. In 2023, 58.7M Americans, about 23% of the population, reported mental health challenges, and more than 12.8M individuals reported serious thoughts of suicide. The U.S. National Guidelines for Crisis Care call for investment in three health intercepts: 1) “Someone to talk to” 2) “Someone to respond”, and (3) “A safe place to be”. Notwithstanding the expansion of 988 crisis call centers, mobile crisis services and short-term crisis stabilization programs that offer “environmental relief,” many barriers exist for people experiencing crisis who do not meet psychiatric emergency criteria, and for the healthcare and government agencies that seek to meet their needs. Co-developed with our clinical Research Partner University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, and Product Partner Juego Studios, this innovation, the “WellSpace,” will provide immersive support in a contained VR ecosystem, reducing systemic costs and barriers while improving outcomes for mental health and suicide. The WellSpace model, based on existing “Social VR” games, replicates elements of physical crisis homes, with trauma-informed, emotional regulation activities. Unique to VR, customizable scenes, sound/music and creation of personal “comfort rooms” extend the empowerment of user “Guests,” who are supported to utilize VR headsets and transition into the experience. After rating themselves on a Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS), Guests select desired activities, supported ‘in-game’ by trained peer specialist companions, with a focus on connectedness as a protective factor against suicide. Our teams Rapid Application Development (RAD) process with a major VR and game developer (Juego Studios), is informed by the WellSpace User Experience Advisory group (WUXA), including people with lived crisis experience. Meanwhile our Research Team will develop a ground-breaking framework to advance research in this new arena, including modeling of tech-specific biometric data, methodologies, and robust outcome instruments for beta-level clinical testing (ideally through SBIR Phase II funding). Preliminary data, feasibility and acceptability of the prototype will be assessed by the WUXA and industry advisors, through alpha use testing focused on design and mechanics. Initial commercialization will be directed to large behavioral health providers and government agencies while future versions are envisioned as directly accessible to consumers, eliminating barriers to compassionate crisis care and connection worldwide.