An EU-funded project is using digital technologies, like software applications for mobile devices, to deliver smart and inclusive care services in Poland’s West Pomerania province.
- 27 September 2019
Good Support is an innovative partnership which increases the accessibility of social services through peer-to-peer applications for mobile devices. We believe you can do more together, so our technology brings people together using the technical capabilities of modern phones. With training and apartment renovations, we also improve the safety and standard of care.
In West Pomerania, more than one in 10 residents struggle with everyday activities, according to the 2011 national census. The Good Support project seeks to address this by offering a system of local social services for people at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
Support is just a click away!
Europe’s urban areas offer many opportunities for social mobility, but not everyone is fortunate enough to enjoy the benefits. Factors like poverty or age can lead to social exclusion and loneliness. In 2014, the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) found that EU citizens were willing to provide neighbourly help, yet only a third of them felt it was easy or possible to obtain this kind of support.
Good Support’s innovative peer-to-peer technology offers a ‘one-stop-shop’ for delivery of care and social services. Anyone needing help in the region can get in touch with service providers by using the project’s website or the app for mobile devices.
In this way, Good Support connects local residents without the need for a costly call centre. The app displays the location of any nearby carers or volunteer schemes, who also use the app to promote their services. A request for a service is then sent on behalf of the care receiver or their families. It stores a list of any services delivered, so that both parties and the families of dependent persons have a reliable record of the transaction. It can also double as an SOS system to be used to report emergencies.
Boosting neighbourhood cohesion
Looking beyond the digital technology, Good Support provides training, respite apartments and renovations to make care safer and easier. Care workers and family and friends of dependents were trained and counselled by the project. At least 20 homes will be renovated during the project to provide safe areas to live and receive care in.
By the end of the project, Good Support aims to have provided care to 300 people at risk of social exclusion. Most of these beneficiaries will be women, because they make up the majority of the province’s over-75 age group. Training and counselling will be delivered to a total of 300 caregivers and guardians supporting their families or friends.
By 2020, 21 counties in Poland will have received comprehensive social services thanks to Good Support. According the project’s partners, its digital approach to building neighbourhood cohesion can easily be replicated in other European cities because of the good ICT infrastructure in urban areas.
Beneficiaries
“I learned about Good Support from a social worker after my left leg was amputated in 2018. Thanks to the support, I received physical therapy and neighbourhood care services. I am now expecting a new prosthesis and a bathroom renovation, and I dream of going back to work.”
Marzenna Siedlecka, dependent person
“I have been working as a carer for three months. Thanks to working with the elderly and the disabled through Good Support, I got to know the problems that affect other people while enjoying quality time with my neighbours. I also learned to manage my time so I can always offer help to those in need.”
Katarzyna Pawlos, caregiver
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Good Support” is EUR 2 361 009, with the EU’s European Social Fund contributing EUR 2 006 860 through the “ROP 16 Regional Operational Programme for Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Social development and prevention of social exclusion of vulnerable groups”.