BravePet

Inspiration

50% of domestic violence/domestic abuse victims won't leave the abusive situations if it means leaving behind their pets. 25% of those who do leave, will return for their pets. 71% say that their abuser physically harmed or killed a pet as means of control. Unfortunately, most domestic abuse shelters do not allow animals. This is where BravePet comes in - it allows for victims to connect with local fosters to house their pets until they get back on their feet.

Being a domestic abuse victim myself, and having a dog who I love nearly and dearly, this project means a lot to me personally. There is a massive need for this support, and with very few options available like this, I needed to create it.

What it does

As I mentioned before, BravePet allows domestic abuse/domestic violence victims to connect with local fosters to house their pets temporarily. It also has an interactive map of the United States that a user can click on to view and contact pet friendly domestic abuse shelters in their state. In addition, BravePet would allow people to sign up to become a volunteer, which would involve a background check and training process. Then, the volunteer, once approved, would be able to make an account and edit their information, respond to victims, and help out. Donations are also accepted through BitCoin, although I would like to expand to allow for all cryptocurrencies to keep decentralization in mind. Registered on BravePet.tech!

How we built it

I built this using React (HTML/CSS, JS), along with a couple libraries such as React Router Dom and MapUSA. I started off by creating some basic designs in Figma, created some graphics in Canva, and put it all together.

Challenges we ran into

I ran into several problems throughout the course of this project, but was able to solve a surprising amount of them! One of the bigger problems was useState and how it is asynchronous - shout out to Dan Inglin from Liberty Mutual for the assistance - when I wanted it to automatically update the information displayed. I was able to work around it by not using the state in all of the places it could be used, but to set things to the event target, instead. Another issue I ran into was trying to find a graph library that I liked and could easily use, but instead I simply made graphics. Also, being a dog parent, having to drive to and from, and dealing with a concussion all made this a very interesting project in regards to the time crunch.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This being my first hackathon is an accomplishment in and of itself. As someone who has been in a similar position, I would absolutely use this. I was able to make it very subtle so that if an abuser were to see search history or the name or cookies on the website that it wouldn’t set off any alarm bells. I also am really excited about the escape key - any time on the website that the escape key is pressed, it will automatically redirect to Chewy.com. I’m also really cheesed about how good the map looks - even though it was a library, it really turned out nicely.

What we learned

I actually learned a ton about useState and useEffect during this, which was really rewarding. Also, I got to learn about crypto and Bitcoin! (Thank you Rob from Foundry!) Being able to implement Bitcoin donations with just a QR code was really incredible.

What's next for BravePet

I would like to finish the messaging feature for victims to message fosters, as well as create a foster-side UI so that they can edit their profile, respond to messages, and more. After that, I would like to propose this solution to Willow (a local Rochester shelter that accepts pets!) or another organization in order to get this up and running!