It’s been a month since the Roscongress Foundation launched the 24-hour In This Together hotline to support and coordinate help for people over the age of 60 and for those with reduced mobility who fall in the high-risk category and are self-isolating. The project is supported by the All-Russia People’s Front, the Association of Volunteer Centres, Medical Volunteers (the all-Russian social movement of volunteers in the healthcare sector), Volunteers of the Constitution, and Rostelecom.
Having worked around the clock for 30 days, staff at the call centre received over 1.5 million phone calls and recorded over 185,000 requests. Phone calls came in from all over Russia and more than 123,000 people received assistance. Over the working month, more than 10 regional call centres were connected and 10 separate branches were developed and recorded within the country-wide interactive spoken menu. A separate software programme was developed for each region while testing of a specially developed robot for the line was completed.
«The hotline has already become a separate yet significant line of activity for the Roscongress Foundation. We are now being asked to open ready-made call centres, review existing capacity in other structures and organisations, and teach volunteers how to train call operators and organise chatbots. Over a short period of time the call centre project has become well-known across Russia. That’s thanks to everyone who has been involved. I’m sure that our initiatives to develop this project can serve as a good example for Russian business», said Alexander Stuglev, CEO and Chairman of the Roscongress Foundation.
As for the future of the hotline, it is hoped that volunteer and student movements can get involved in its activities.
«Such major targets would have been impossible without the full dedication of the staff at the Roscongress Foundation along with our partners and volunteers who are now actively involved in the hotline. We’ve been shown a huge amount of appreciation and the project has gained a lot of attention from the media. At such a difficult time, people who are older or who have reduced mobility should obviously receive comprehensive support. I’m sure that if every one of us dedicates a little of their time and effort to doing good deeds, the In This Together project will live up to its name», said the founder of the hotline project and Head of the Roscongress Foundation’s Delegate Management Directorate, Maria Kiseleva.
A dedicated section on the hotline’s work and the potential of the Roscongress Foundation to organise similar call centres for partner organisations and commercial structures can be found on the official Roscongress Foundation site.
The Roscongress Foundation and the All-Russia People’s Front have signed an agreement with the aim of developing long-term and effective cooperation. The agreement states that the Roscongress Foundation is a general partner of the All-Russia People’s Front as regards organising and coordinating the work of the 24-hour Russian hotline for people who are older or have reduced mobility and are self-isolating.
The hotline number is +7 (800) 200 3411.
