CrowdV

CrowdV will fight social isolation and loneliness among people with disabilities and older adults by connecting them with trained volunteers. The connection will take place through a free, peer-to-peer marketplace app called ‘CrowdV’ built by CDI. It will work as a free peer-to-peer application where any individual in need of social undertakings can easily express their needs through the application, and trained volunteers will respond based on their availability. To ensure a quality connection, all volunteers will be trained by CDI. To ensure safety, we will perform background checks. College students will be awarded certificates based on the numbers and quality of their service to people with disabilities and older individuals. Volunteering is a significant personal objective for many college students and in the wake of the pandemic, it will also help reduce social isolation and loneliness. The intervention with the served population will take the following forms based on the type of causes:

Removing Isolation: To help deal with isolation, the volunteer will assist them with their non-medical needs, e.g. taking them for groceries or just for outings and attending community events (both online and onsite). These activities will increase community access for people with disabilities.
Removing Loneliness: As loneliness is subjective, so customised services will be provided according to the needs of people with disabilities. For example, if anybody feels better watching a movie, the volunteer will accompany him/her watching that movie. Also, sometimes, to make them feel better, volunteers can have online sessions with them.
Removing the Social Stigma of Availing Personal Care: We will host a series of events, both online and offline, so that they may understand the importance of availing of volunteer services. The focus is on its assured safety standard, availability with no cost, lessening the burden of family members, and the value in improving the quality of life.