The Roscongress Foundation would like to thank all the participants in the national #WeAreTogether campaign, who have been teaming up to help people for two years now.
Two years have passed since the launch of the round-the-clock ‘We Are Together’ hotline, which was set up by the All-Russia People’s Front and the Roscongress Foundation to support a far-reaching campaign of kindness.
Back in
2020, lots of people were having a very difficult time, were stressed out, and
had a million unanswered questions about COVID-19, working conditions for
healthcare workers, payments for families with children, the resolution of
labour disputes, and how to get back to Russia.
The hotline
became an information centre for such people. Operators took applications from
the elderly for the delivery of medicines and groceries, and provided
consultations on all the issues mentioned above. Psychologists and clergymen
helped people cope with their doubts and fears on special hotlines for
psychological and spiritual help.
The hotline’s focus areas
changed depending on the demands of the time. By autumn 2020, operators had
begun providing consultations on school meals and a programme for affordable
travel within Russia.
A new stage of the affordable
travel programme started on 15 March: people can book trips until 1 May and
take the trips by 1 July. The next stage of the children’s cashback programme
is scheduled to start on the night of 31 March, when people will be able to
send their children to a children’s camp from 1 May through the end of the
summer.
Starting from February 2021,
the #WeAreTogether hotline began signing people up for vaccination against
COVID-19. Since March 2022, operators have been providing consultations on
temporary restrictions in the operation of several Russian airports.
Operators are still taking
applications from the elderly for the delivery of food and medicines and also
accepting applications from healthcare workers for assistance in processing
special payments. The hotline is open around the clock and free of charge at 8
(800) 200-34-11 and is available to residents of all regions of Russia.
“The #WeAreTogether hotline is a tool that
has provided real help and support to citizens literally from the first days of
its launch. Over two years, we have become convinced on multiple occasions that
the population needs it to solve acute problems. For the People’s Front, the
hotline has also become an effective method for collecting feedback on the most
socially significant issues. Such was the case, for example, with free school
meals and tourist cashback. People had reported shortcomings in these areas,
and the People’s Front promptly forwarded comments to the relevant agencies,
which made it possible to quickly adjust the work of programmes,” said Sergey
Gorbunov, deputy director of the Executive Committee of the People’s Front.
“The
hotline is not only an important and timely initiative that truly helps people
in the regions, but also one of the main tools for communicating with the
population. Obtaining feedback, taking stock of people’s opinions, hearing what
Russians are worried about, and helping with complex and new issues are what it
was designed for. The hotline continues to work and expand its functionality,”
Roscongress Foundation Chairman of the Board and CEO Alexander Stuglev said.
Maria
Kiselyova, the initiator of the hotline project and Head of the Roscongress
Foundation’s Participant Relations Directorate, offered high praise for what
the hotline has done over the last two years. “We have received millions of
calls and requests for help. Thanks to the coordinated actions of our partners,
we teamed up to help people in the difficult times of self-isolation, and we
continue to work today. Some people received help by calling the line, while
others found a job thanks to this project. We devote special attention to the
employment of people with limited mobility and disabilities by providing an
opportunity to work remotely from any city. We are still together and have
become even stronger!” she said.
The
initiative is supported by the Association of Volunteer Centres, the ‘Medical
Volunteers’ Russian Public Movement of Healthcare Volunteers, the Volunteers of
the Constitution, Rostelecom, and the DOBRO.RU platform.
