Facebook is building on Safety Check feature to crowdsource relief and aid during times of crisis.
The social network announced an update to Safety Check on Wednesday, which includes the launch of the new feature called Community Help.
With the feeling like more can be done to help during emergency situations, Facebook's Community Help uses a community-centric approach when it comes to dealing with a crisis so that people can be safe in all sense of the word.
Community Help lives within Safety Check, the feature that launched back in 2014 that allows users to report that they are safe during a crisis such as natural disaster, accident, or terrorist attack.
It allows Facebook users to find and give help in these times of need. This includes giving and receive things like food, water, shelter, transportation, baby supplies and more.
Here's how Community Help works:
When a natural disaster or other serious incident occurs, Facebook receives an alert from the agencies NC4 and iJET International. Facebook then activates the Safety Check for the crisis monitors posts about the incident in that area.
A lot of users talking about an incident can also activate Safety Check, and then users can mark themselves safe and invite others to follow suit.
Community Help will then appear only when Safety Check is activated. After checking on a friend or family member or telling others they are safe, the user can then search for or give aid to those nearby. Since the feature is within Safety Check, users can access the community all from this one centralized place without having to search for or create separate groups.
Users just need to tap on "Find Help" to search for supplies or services within their community, or tap on "Give Help" to donate.
After selecting to find help, Community Help provides the option to select a category like Food, Pet Supplies or Shelter for easy searching. Once a category is chosen, the user will see posts from other users in that area regarding the ways they can help and their approximate location.
Posts appear in reverse chronological order, which keeps the feed fresh. Users can then contact those who posted thanks to a "message" button that is included on all posts that redirected to Messenger. Users can also comment on any post, with that user receiving a notification.
Community Help also features a location-centric map where users can see all the offers and requests for help plotted.
Community Help is rolling out over the "next couple of weeks" first in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Saudi Arabia for natural and accidental incidents, such as an earthquake or building fire. Additional countries and types of incidents will then be added after this initial testing period.
