St. Petersburg offers a
nationwide hotline to support and coordinate help for people over 60 years of
age. This age group faces the highest risk due to the spread of the new type of
coronavirus COVID-19. This project is supported by the Roscongress Foundation, Association of Volunteer Centres,
Medical Volunteers (a public movement of international cooperation), Volunteers
of the Constitution movement, and Rostelecom. More and more volunteers and business partners are joining the
#wearetogether initiative.
The hotline launched by the
Roscongress Foundation received a total of over 160,000 calls. The main task of
the call centre is to help volunteers ensure elderly people in isolation are
provided with medications and food.
«Over two weeks since the start
of the project, we have been able to optimize our resources and infrastructure.
This helped us successfully implement the project. I am grateful to everyone
supporting it. Today, everyones contribution is as important for the nations
health as ever,» noted Alexander Stuglev, CEO and Chairman of the Roscongress
Foundation.
As
the coronavirus situation aggravates in Russia, the call centre gets more and
more calls that are not directly related to its main purpose. Ever since the
hotline was launched, it received over 160,000 calls from all Russian regions,
including over 16.5 thousand requests. «Employees of the Roscongress Foundation
teamed up and invested all their care and dedication in this hotline. They are
committed to supporting people who are in need in this time of trouble. Call
centre operators are based in different cities Moscow, St. Petersburg, and
Vladivostok. The hotline team
is made up of 150 people. We care about our employees. That is why some of them
work from home. In case people are unable to reach other Russian hotlines, our
operators call back within 24 hours. A significant workload is something our
specialists are accustomed to. However, though it is mentally challenging, it
is joyful at the same time. Every day we feel the gratitude the elderly send
our way and we know they really need our help,» shared Maria Kiseleva, Head of
the Roscongress Foundations Delegate Management Directorate and initiator of
the project.
The most popular requests include
domiciliary healthcare; unattainable inpatient admission or transportation to
healthcare providers; medication provision; a higher demand for psychological
support or social services (from domestic services to nursing care for people
with disabilities) especially from lonely elderly people; and support measures
for homeless people. Besides, there is a growing need for legal aid due to
potential travel restrictions for countrys residents.
«The #wearetogether initiative swiftly became sought-after. People call and we support them together. Through this project, our society becomes united and mobilizes to help the most vulnerable and fragile. It is important for all community services and non-profit organizations to team up through the use of this platform. Of course, we expect businesses to get involved as well. This is what the Innosocium Foundation is after around the clock. We would like to extend our gratitude to those who already joined our initiative and supported our project. We are looking forward to welcoming new partners: any help is important now,» said Elena Marinina, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the Innosocium Foundation.
See the Roscongress Foundations YouTube channel for more information.