After the Safety Check, Facebook launches a service of mutual assistance in a crisis situation – Numerama

Facebook has just launched the Community Check, a derived feature of the Safety Check, which allows to propose or to ask for help to others in full critical situation. The tool is for the moment restricted to certain countries and types of situation.

Three months after its announcement, Facebook deploys today a tool of assistance for its users in the face of situations of significant danger (terrorist attack, natural disaster, etc.). This feature derives directly from the notorious Safety Check, which if active in the same circumstances — or, more recently, through its users, despite a few hiccups — and lets users geo-located in the area to inform their relatives that they are safe.

in practical terms, to access Community Help, users (over 18 years) must go in the tab Safety Check appeared when a disaster occurs, and indicate that they are ” safe “. They can then create an advertisement to offer or ask for help from others : food, shelter, transportation, etc. Every advertisement is classified by category (” transport “, ” baby products “, ” food for animals “…) for more clarity.

The Community Help also indicates if you have friends in common with the person who posted the announcement, to encourage the contact. Conversely, it reminds us to always meet the users in a public place as a precaution.

The feature, reserved in a first time in a few countries — United States, Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and New Zealand — not for the moment, only the accidents, and natural disasters. Facebook plans to deploy it more widely in the weeks and months to come.

Community Help is born out of the observation that humanitarian organizations relayed to Facebook : in these critical situations, people often turn to the social network, or to offer their help, either for request.

In France, in the same spirit, the hashtag “#Porteouverte ” had seen the light of day on the social networks during the terrorist attacks of November 13, 2015. Users of solidarity greeted spontaneously at home people in search of a refuge.

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