Using ARC2.0

We know that technology sometimes needs instructions. Thats why we have written this user guide and created some short instructional videos. Learn more about the features of ARC2.0 app and how to use them below.

Getting started with ARC2.0

One of the great things about ARC2.0 is that you can set your app up personalised to you. You can create your own profile, collect achievement badges, and see how your homepage changes with you on your journey.

My Profile

When you open ARC2.0 you can enter in some details about you to tailor the app to your recovery journey. If you navigate to the Profile option in the side menu, you can add in your recovery start date, and choose whether or not to show this on your homepage. You can also choose to add a profile photo, which you can also show on the homepage of ARC2.0. Its also within this section that you can control your preferences about whether ARC2.0 can send you notifications or use your location.

All of ARC2.0 features can be accessed using either the "main menu" (along the bottom of the screen), or the "side menu" which you can access using the button menu button on the top right of each screen. When you are in the side menu of the app, you can swipe to close or touch our logo to go back to the homepage.

ARC2.0 Homepage

The app homepage is personalised to you. At the top of the screen, you will see a motivational quote that will update everytime you load the app. If you have set up your profile photo, or recovery date to show on the home page you will see these too.

If you plan your time using the app calendar, you will see a highlight and shortcut to your upcoming events and your calendar.

The Upcoming meetings section on the homepage will show you the next meeting to happen in real-time. If you have your location services on, it will modify your homepage to show Upcoming nearby meetings. This section will show you when the next meetings near you (within 3 miles) are running. You can scroll through the the list of upcoming meetings in either case, or tap on them to find out more details. If there are upcoming events, that are one off, you will see a section called Upcoming one-off meetings. This works just like above, but will help you to learn about one off events more easily.

At the bottom of the homepage, in purple, is the Announcement section. If we want to let you know about announcements you will find them here, in the purple section.

Badges

badges icon

The badges option on the side menu of ARC2.0 will show you which badges are available, and which badges you have earned. As you earn badges you will receive notifications from ARC2.0. If you select the notification on your phone, it will take you to a prepopulated page of your diary so you can record your feelings about your achievements!

Accessing Services and managing your time

One of the main functions of ARC2.0 is to help you easily access information about meetings and services in Edinburgh. All relevant services for people in recovery are available to app users. ARC2.0 shows realtime information about meetings and events - even zoom ones. Which will make it easier to plan your time.

Services

Use the Services function to find out what council services are available near you.
If you select the services' icon from the main menu, you will see a list of services relevant to you. On this page, you can see the types of support each service provides. If you prefer, you can view the services in map view by selecting the toggle to the top left of the screen. Selecting any service, from list or map view, will bring up all of the details about the service and its opening times.

Meetings

You can find and explore, by map view or list view, all details of local recovery meetings using the meetings icons on the main menu. On map view, you can navigate the Edinburgh area to see where meetings are being held. Each pin represents a meeting location, and you can choose to filter locations based on the type of meetings you are looking for - just use the filter to the top-right to narrow down your search. When you select a pin it will bring up the meetings held at that location. ARC2.0 is a little smarter, so this information drawer knows what day it is. You will see that the top of the list will show the next available meetings at that location e.g., if it's Wednesday it will show any Wednesday meetings first. Also, if you have location services on you can use the person icon to show where your location is on the map.

You can change to list view by selecting the icon to the top left of the map screen. This will show a list of all the meetings grouped by day. By Selecting a meeting on either list or map view, you will be able to see all of the information about that meeting and location. It is from here you can add meetings to your calendar. You can select to add a calendar event either weekly, 4 weekly, or once.

Calendar

Selecting Calendar from the main menu will help you keep track of meetings and add appointments.

The Calendar shows you any meetings you have added using through Meetings (these are marked with a little hexagon on month view). You can also use the '+' symbol on the top left to add your own appointments to your Calendar. Any appointment or meeting can have a notification added to help you keep on top of things.

When you view your calendar in day view, it will show any appointment or meeting you have in time order - making it easy to see if you have a busy or empty day. You can plan ahead by finding dates in month view where you have nothing planned. It's easy to navigate your calendar by selecting a date in month view, or using the date arrows at the top of the screen. .

Other features

ARC2.0 has other features to support you and help you stay motivated during your recovery.

Diary

Keep track of progress, thoughts and feelings.

Just press '+' (top left of screen), to add a new entry into your Diary. You can write a bit about your important day to day moments and experiences and even 'capture the moment' by adding a photo! On days when you don't know what to say you can capture your mood using the mood survey, Press 'add to diary' to place the entry into your diary stream. When you receive notifications about collected badges, it will prompt you to add your achievement to your diary.

As you add to your diary, the diary stream will keep track of your thoughts, feelings and memories on your recovery journey. Turn to your Diary to reflect on your progress as time passes.

Reflection

For when you need an extra boost.

When you go to the Reflection section of the app you are asked to assess your mood. If you are 'Feeling good', ARC app will ask you to make a Diary entry to mark the good news. If you 'Want inspiration', you can read motivational quotes - just swipe down to see new quotes (there are plenty quotes to inspire you!). If you 'Need motivation', you can listen to one of the audio guided mindfulness exercises. Provided by Foundation for Positive Mental Health these 1, 4 or 11 minute exercises can help you to refocus. You can even use the code provided in the app to get more exercises! If you 'Need help', the app will take you to your Emergency function where you can call or even text your emergency contacts. To make it easier we have written the text for you, all you have to do is press 'text' then 'send'.

Emergency call button

Use the Emergency call button to reach out for help.

Pressing Emergency brings up your list of emergency contacts. You cann add your emergency contacts from here - select '+' at the top left of the screen.

We know it can be difficult to reach out when you need help and we want to make it as easy as possible. Each name has the option to call or text next to it. Press 'Phone' to call your contact. Or you can choose to text them. Pressing 'Text' writes a text to your contact saying "I'm having a bad day. Can you call me?", you can edit this or just press send to reach out to others.

What else?

Some things don't need long explanations. You can also find the following in ARC2.0:

Contact us: details about how and when to contact us.
About us: learn more about us.
Privacy Policy: important information about how we manage data.

Get in touch

If you want to learn more about the app or have something to share then please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.