A platform to fulfill the needs of quarantined people in need by connecting them with volunteer networks.
Written by: Linda Yan
The Challenge
When a region is under quarantine, people usually stay alone or with their families at home. People who are at high risk from COVID-19, or are quarantined due to suspected/ confirmed infections, are unable to leave their houses and obtain necessities like food and medical supplies without putting themselves and/ or others at risk. In this situation, those with special needs or with weak or no social support become the most at risk.
To mitigate this, many local groups and organizations both big and small have started initiatives to try and get crucial resources, such as food and medicine, to these people and help out with important tasks, including grocery shopping. Unfortunately, a number of these organizations are struggling with certain logistics, like coordinating their volunteer workforce, prioritizing the most urgent requests, and ensuring that all requests get fulfilled.
The Solution
Reach4Help aims to facilitate support requests for identified people in need, such as the elderly and immunocompromised, and act as a bridge between them and reputable volunteers and volunteer organizations that can help, such as government organizations and local Red Cross establishments. To ensure the safety of our users, the project is reaching out and working with volunteer organizations and networks that are reputable, and which conduct appropriate background checks on their volunteers. A few examples of these currently are AEISEC, FeedFolks LA and others in Canada, Portugal, the US, and the UK.
To accomplish this, Reach4Help is currently developing a simple mobile web app for quarantined people to express their needs. This, along with the person in need’s map location and contact information, would then be made available to authorities and to volunteers who can provide help via an app notification on their end. Volunteers, who would have been virtually onboarded beforehand, would then have the option to accept or decline the opportunity to provide assistance. After the task is completed, it will be marked so, and there would be a chance for the volunteer to receive a rating for their service. The applet would also be made available in different languages, and feature a direct messaging capability, to increase efficacy and efficiency.
Reach4Help has developed an interactive Global Map of Mutual Aid to help people find and join mutual aid efforts involving pandemic disaster relief where they live.
Additionally, Reach4Help has developed an interactive Global Map of Mutual Aid to help people find and join mutual aid efforts involving pandemic disaster relief where they live.
Reach4Help is currently looking for Front-End Engineers, Organization Researchers and Mappers, Community Managers, Social Media Managers, and Legal Experts. If you are interested in being a part of their volunteer team, please join the Reach4Help Slack and fill out the onboarding form. If you have any questions or comments, please email [email protected].
Get Involved
The designs for these projects are presented As-Is. The goal is to present designs that can foster further discussion and be utilized in countries that permit this product. These are not finalized designs and do not represent certification from any country. You accept responsibility and release Helpful Engineering from liability for the manufacture or use of this product. This design was created in response to the announcement on March 10, 2020, from the HHS. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who issued a declaration pursuant to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.
Link to Prep act. :https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/prepact/Pages/default.aspx
ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS, IMPLIED AND STATUTORY, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. THIS DEVICE (INCLUDING ANY ACCESSORIES AND COMPONENTS) IS PRESENTED ‘AS IS.’
