Community and technology
How citizens are self-organizing during the COVID-19 crisis
By Noa Gafni and Anastasia Kalinina
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a major shift in public sentiment, with the majority of individuals putting more trust in government than any other institution for the first time in 20 years.
Globally, a large majority want the government to lead in multiple areas of pandemic response, including containing the pandemic, informing the public, getting their country back to normal, and providing economic relief. At the same time, people expect governments to collaborate with other sectors on their pandemic response, and the world is witnessing the rise of citizen-led community responses to the pandemic on a local, grassroots level. These are driven by community members, including neighborhood volunteer groups and associations, teachers, and small business owners who can, in many ways, provide more efficient and effective support. Despite physical distancing, people are finding creative ways to help one another, reach out to the most vulnerable peers, and connect community members with resources they need.
Given the nature of the crisis, community leaders are turning to technology, more than ever before, to keep information flowing, enable public participation, and offer services and support. Here are three ways communities are contributing to pandemic relief efforts, leveraging technology to build networks of support during this crisis.
Providing health information and economic support to marginalized groups
Research shows that individuals from ethnic minority groups, living in challenging or crowded living conditions, or with pre-existing health conditions are more at risk of severe illness. Community leaders are leveraging technology to provide supplies and information in order to protect these vulnerable populations. Radical Health, an app that helps Latinx communities in the Bronx, NY, understand their health care rights, built a Radical Response platform for its constituents with up-to-date, accurate information in both English and Spanish. All throughout Africa, people are devising mobile tech solutions to contain the spread of the coronavirus, from informational WhatsApp chatbots to stay-at-home marketplaces. Wellvis in South Africa created a free online triage tool to help users assess their risk. Nest, which provides fair-market access to local female artisans across developing countries, is offering its network grants for e-commerce development and digital sales. In several cities in India, young people are providing relief packages for “daily wagers”: people without savings, who rely entirely on cash flow that has now been cut off.
Combating mental health and social isolation challenges
COVID-19 is negatively impacting mental health, overloading hotlines, and other traditional resources of national mental health systems. Communities are responding accordingly, building digital tools for neighbors and colleagues. In Belgrade, volunteers organize virtual coffee mornings and crisis counseling. Betaworks launched a peer-to-peer mentorship program to connect founders and CEOs through virtual support groups. Astra Labs, a youth-run nonprofit, built an “Anxiety Helper” app with resources and tools for mental illness support. And Amplifier, which leverages art for social impact, is offering free downloads of artworks to spread the word and de-stigmatize the issue.
Supporting distance learning and more equitable education
As millions of students worldwide moved their education online, students with learning challenges or from lower-income backgrounds were left at a disadvantage. Organizations like Cambs Youth Panel, a local youth engagement forum in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, are providing laptops for children who don’t have the tools to engage in remote learning. Rev.com, a virtual transcription service, is providing educators with free, real-time captions during Zoom-led lessons. Beyond 12, which helps first-generation university students with the tools to succeed in higher education, is offering virtual coaching to prepare students for a more complex university experience.
In tandem with national, government-led response efforts, people and communities applied truly innovative approaches to address the multiple impacts of COVID-19. Local communities are leveraging technology to build their own networks of support and aid relief efforts. And, although these self-organized networks were built to address the COVID-19 pandemic, there is hope that this resurgence of community action will survive the pandemic. Communities will continue to mobilize and drive transformative action as we begin the transition to a “new normal.”
Anastasia Kalinina, Re-State Foundation
Noa Gafni, Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation
