Neighbourly

Requesting an Errand
Login Page
Account Creation Page
Elderly Citizen Side
Volunteer Side

Inspiration 🌟

With many elderly neighbours in our community, we often witness the everyday challenges that they face, especially when it is pertaining to small but necessary tasks like grocery shopping, taking out the trash, or carrying heavy items. Many seniors feel hesitant to ask for help, while simultaneously, others in the community are eager to volunteer and help out. We were inspired by these daily occurrences to create Neighbourly, a simple, accessible platform to bridge this gap and nurture a strong and connected community.

What it does ⚙️

Neighbourly allows for elderly citizens to sign up with their address and submit requests for certain tasks that they need taken care of, such as picking up medication and helping wash clothes. Anyone can sign up to be a volunteer, and as they do, requests from elderly citizens will appear on their page with their corresponding addresses. Volunteers can see the date and time of the request, contact the person requesting the help, and accept it with just a tick of a box.

How we built it 🛠️

We built our web application Neighbourly using Python with the Flask framework, HTML and CSS for the frontend, and MongoDB Atlas for the database. We also used VS Code Liveshare to collaborate with each other in real time.

Challenges we ran into 🧱

There were many different challenges that we faced as we completed this prototype.

Time Management One of the most difficult parts of carrying out this project was ensuring that we develop a time-friendly platform that is realistically achievable with our current skillset and knowledge in around one day. In order to make sure that we could create a reasonable project within the allocated time, we ensured that we had timely deadlines for each task, and that roles were delegated accordingly to each teammate.

Test Cases Another difficult challenge we ran into while finishing up our project was having to consider many different test cases in each step. It was important for us to try and be very accessible to the platform's users, and this meant that we had to try and account for different situations that may occur.

Varying Skill Level Last but not least, one challenge we experienced was the varying levels of skills every team member had. However, we learned that this could be very advantageous, as everyone had a different skill that they specialized in, allowing for a thorough delegation of roles, and team members dedicating their time to tasks that they are most experienced and skilled in.

Accomplishments that we're proud of 🏆

There are a few accomplishments that we are proud of while working on this collaborative project. Firstly, we're proud of our teamwork while working under pressure, especially with a very tight and strict deadline. We learned to adapt to different situations through attention to detail, such as noticing that we mistakenly forgot to include a certain feature, but ensuring that it was implemented as soon as possible. Additionally, we are proud of our platform being a straightforward and user-friendly website that those within our community can use with ease.

What we learned 📚

Through collaborating on this project, we learned the importance of designing with empathy and accessibility as a priority. We explored how to make user interfaces simple and intuitive for elderly users, and how to ensure a smooth process for volunteers signing up. Our work has allowed for us to deeply reflect on the significance of teamwork, dedication, and hard work under pressure, and especially recognize the daily struggles that can be faced by elderly citizens within our community and beyond.

What's next for Neighbourly! 🚀

As this project was developed under a very short deadline, there are many features that could be added to further enhance the product, and allow for the best experience for both elderly users and volunteers who are signing up.

A better vetting system for volunteers to ensure that we can prevent privacy breaches and ensure the elderly feel safe.
An hour-tracking system for the volunteers, and statistics regarding each volunteer's experience with the app that could allow for elderly citizens to feel more reassured in their help.
Voice description and recording features to allow for easier access to those who may feel challenged when using electronic devices. This would allow for the best possible care for the elderly users.
An emergency alert button that could describe the urgency of a user's request, such as picking up very important medication, or calling healthcare or protective services.
Create profiles for the elderly users, where the volunteers aiding them can learn more about them before they try to aid, as this can enhance the care that they receive. For example, if a user is hard of hearing, volunteers with experience in sign language can help them out.
Sort by location to make it easier for volunteers to determine which tasks are near them.