FrenaLaCurva, a platform to help neighbors in need during the quarantine

If something has been proven, these days of quarantine in Spain, is that, in general, we are being committed to and respecting the government order us to stay at home. Thus, in the majority of cases, if teleworks, it comes to what you need: to do basic shopping, throwing away trash, to go to the doctor, etc

However, there are many people in Spain, a country that old, that may need help, and that or do not live close to their family, or not even have anyone whom to ask for help. If for me, young, already poses a risk to go out in the day-to-day, especially in areas of high density, the groups of risk is much more crude.

To be able to help the elderly with the purchase or the trash, to parents who may need babysitting altruistic, or simply forms of to make more easy the passage of the days, has created the platform ‘FrenaLaCurva‘, an initiative that seeks to put in contact to people which is near, thanks to the use of the geolocation. Other platforms that can be used for the same are NextDoor or Supervecina.

How to help your neighbors in FrenaLaCurva

FrenaLaCurva was born as an initiative of the Government of Aragón, but today is a citizen platform that works thanks to the work of volunteers, activists, companies, organizations and laboratories of open innovation. As they say in their ‘Instructions for use‘, “is a technological tool complementary to that depends entirely upon which we can activate outside of the field of technology”, “especially given to groups in situation of vulnerability or the digital divide”.

The needs and offerings of those who are intermediaries are the following:

• Need own: the person in need of a service please fill in the form.
• Need with ntermediación: need created by people who know of the needs of people who cannot fill in the form by not having access to a mobile / computer.
• Offering: volunteers may do shopping, take out trash…
• Public Service Available: markets or pharmacies with schedules modified, vets open, social centres that provide meals, toiletries and food to carriers…

Within them, there are many needs, such as purchase of medicine or food, prepared food, take out the trash, take a walk or accept pets, or accompanying technological. This last point is important, because there are many people who are alone, and do not have the technological means or distractions these days that keep a lot of people out of boredom.

To “curb the curve”, the creators have used OpenStreetMap and Ushashidi, a web platform that helps cope with “information vital in disaster areas or conflict”. Using your map, and even without checking, we can see offerings, and needs. Something interesting is that we can publish “needs with intermediation”, if one of our known do not have the means or knowledge to publish.

To post needs and offers, yes, sign up, and we are asked to titulemos the need, our approximate location, une brief description, and the category related to the need or the offer that we want to make. So, we can see how we can offer services of ‘Maker’in the event that we have 3D printer or means for the manufacture of masks, resources that may be required.

Tips of privacy and security for the purchase of collective risk

In initiatives such as FrenaLaCurva one of the problems may be the loss of privacy of those who provide and those who need help. For this reason, in the instructions, they recommend not to give the address of your home or of the dependent person, but approximate directions. They also recommend giving the e-mail instead of the phone, at least publicly, so that the experience is less invasive.

On the other hand, it is important to remember that in many cases we will deal with collective risk. For them, since the instructions remind us that there should be physical contact, that you have to purchase at the door, speaking to about two meters, it is better not to deal with money physical, to the extent possible, etc

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The news

FrenaLaCurva, a platform to help neighbors in need during the quarantine

it was originally published in

Engadget

by
Antonio Sabán

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