InterGen

Inspiration

According to UCSF, more than 40 percent of seniors regularly experience loneliness. Researchers have found that the feeling of separation and disconnection from others may predict serious health problems and even death. An intergenerational relationship is advantageous for both seniors and students. Through these conversations, both groups will be able to find a new sense of purpose and learn new skills. In addition, this video calling system may help alleviate fears that students have of the elderly. Senior Citizens are more likely to be energized and this may also reduce the likelihood of depression.

What it does

InterGen is an online video conferencing platform that was created in order to connect the youth to seniors. It builds upon partnerships between schools and community and nursing centers to serve as an easy way for students and senior citizens to connect and interact via video call. Students will receive volunteer hours for their calls and can send their call logs to the counselor.

How we built it

We collaborated to develop a web application using Glitch and working with HTML/CSS/Javascript. We also utilized the Twilio framework to begin building a integrated video conferencing platform.

Challenges we ran into

Implementing user interaction components, verifying sign-in information, and adding more features to the video conferencing platform.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Working on a virtual hackathon for the very first time and collaborating with individuals we didn't know prior to the event. Developing a multi-page interface that is both accessible to senior citizens and students and successfully creating a user-friendly layout.

What we learned

We learned how to integrate HTML/CSS/Javascript with Twilio. We also learned about design and styling of applications and how to make products accessible by taking into consideration our user's needs.