SafeLink

Volunteer Signup Page
Disaster Reporting Page
Nearest Organization Popup
Home Page

Inspiration

In times of crisis, we are often unsure of where to turn or how to help. SafeLink was created to bridge that gap—to turn individual actions into a collective response and let the communities be part of the solution. By enabling people to share real-time information, SafeLink empowers communities to stay safe, informed, and connected. Our goal is to make vital information accessible to everyone so that when disaster strikes, communities are equipped to support each other.

What it does

SafeLink is a crowdsourced disaster mapping platform using a web-based application. Information on hazards and available organizations is shown near the user. This information is displayed in a Google map format, where each update is pinned to a specific location, enabling others to make informed decisions during emergencies. SafeLink is designed to connect individuals who want to help to nearby organizations. When users identify themselves as volunteers, they share their location and are shown nearby organizations that may require support.

How we built it

The front end was designed for simplicity and accessibility, we implemented a clean interface with minimal clicks required to post updates or locate resources. React.js was used for a responsive interface that can handle fast data refreshes. SafeLink’s backend was built to support real-time data handling. This required a robust database and server setup to quickly process location data and user input which was handled by Flask & SQL. To implement precise location tracking and visualization, we integrated geolocation services. This involved Google Maps & Geocoding API integrations.

Challenges we ran into

The most difficult component was frontend & backend integration, since we are using many tools to create separate components for the project, ensuring proper communication between frontend & backend was riddled with errors and bugs. We also had UX features such as filtering in the backend, however did not finish frontend integration on time.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to develop a fully functional web-based application in 24 hours, which could actually provide a significant impact on communities affected by natural disasters. We’ve crafted a space where people can instantly share information and connect with their communities in times of crisis.

What we learned

Development of the project provided us with indispensable practical experience, we learned more frameworks, languages, and tools. We learned how to develop the backend using Flask for the first time to create a server and implemented API endpoints for front-end communication. During development, tools such as Insomnia were also used to test API and database functionality. Overall, this project provided the entire team with a full-stack development experience.

What's next for SafeLink

We have many features planned for SafeLink, however, due to the time constraints, we prioritized critical functions. Our next focus is to develop the application further to increase community engagement. We are looking into comments, uploading images, and upvoting features. We want to develop a mobile app to make SafeLink more accessible. Another important feature is for organizations to manage their pin to provide more important information and web scraping to gather information from reliable sources about nearby organizations that provide disaster relief. This ensures users can access up-to-date information. Continued iteration and feature implementation are essential to the real-life usage of the application.