K.O.vid-19: Connecting volunteers with people who need help during isolation.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people with higher risk of major illness, for example, older adults and individuals with underlying health conditions, to not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. This has led to health professionals advising at-risk patients to have friends and relatives shop for them. But some people don’t always have that network readily accessible to them where they live.
UT computer science senior Amir Mostafavi realized this when his grandmother, a Dallas resident, called and asked whether he could buy her groceries. “I was still in Austin,” Mostafavi said. “I had to call one of my friends who was in Dallas to go help her out.”
He suddenly realized this process could be streamlined, getting the idea for a website where “people who need help can sign up, people who are willing to give help can sign up, and then we match them together.” Mostafavi was joined by his friend Ali Ajam and they got right to work.
After more brainstorming and a few days of developing, K.O.vid-19 (kovid19.org) was launched in early April. Mostafavi said, “we believe our site can help people K.O. or knock out, COVID-19 together.”
Users on the site have the option to help others or request help, with categories such as grocery shopping, dog walking, and technology. After taking users’ names, phone numbers and ZIP codes, it then automatically matches people who are in the same ZIP code and help category.
Once a match is made, each person gets a confirmation text with details on how to contact their helper or requestor. All this is done through an intermediary number in order to protect both parties’ real phone numbers. Users also have the freedom to easily “unmatch” to get paired up again or “exit” to opt out entirely.
Today, kovid19.org has over 300 users signed up. “I was checking through some of the ZIP codes that we have and they’re from all over the place — New York, Texas, even Mississippi, Kansas,” said Mostafavi. “We have lots and lots of people wanting to help.”
They are both eager to see where this site will go. “People love the idea! We just need to find a good channel to spread the platform to let people know that it exists. And hopefully then it can be a good use for all of them.”
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May 12, 2020 at 05:21AM
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