To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.
This Better Story was collected by Marita Zitmane
This initiative was created to help people who, due to Covid-19 restrictions, were forced to stay at home. The target group is composed of people in self-isolation, those sick with Covid-19, or those who belong to the high-risk group due to medical reasons. Additionally, the project focused on supporting vulnerable groups like ‘people with low income,’ ‘single parents,’ and ‘elderly individuals living alone.’ The primary idea was to aid those individuals who lacked the means, support, or skills to acquire necessary items while in self-isolation.
A platform connecting volunteers and people seeking help
The initiative originated at the grassroots level as a Facebook page, connecting people seeking help and volunteers willing to provide assistance. A coordination platform was established to organize activities and share information. This network was maintained through a call center, a website, and a mobile app.
A phone application to organize information
In early 2020, the project achieved recognition by securing the third place in a hackathon focused on generating support-related ideas. The objective was to launch a mobile application capable of handling a larger amount of information, enabling volunteers to make informed choices about how to contribute. This mobile app achieved significant success, promoting the idea that volunteering should not lead to burnout.
A continuous effort
Throughout 2021, the project underwent a transformation, becoming an NGO. Initially lacking prominent supporters, the initiative later gained backing from the retailer “RIMI,” who featured the initiative in their advertisements. Presently active under the name “#easytohelp,” the initiative’s focus has shifted to assisting refugees from Ukraine.
Image by pvproductions from Freepik