Help Your Neighbors During the Coronavirus Pandemic With These New Nextdoor Features
Many of us are stuck inside, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be good neighbors and help each other. Nextdoor recently launched a new Help Map feature that allows users to volunteer for additional responsibilities and other useful activities for those around them. This feature can make a huge difference for seniors, large families, and people with medical conditions or special needs who need extra help during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Help Map feature has been in beta for a while, but is now available to all mobile users – you just need to update the Nextdoor app first. With that in mind, here’s how to find a new help card and help your community:
- Open the Nextdoor app. On the Home tab, click the More icon to open the sidebar and then Help Map.
- From here you can click “Offer Help” and list your family and the things / things you are willing to do.
To request help:
- Click View Map to see houses offering assistance, which appear as green dots on the map. Tap them to see how they can help. If you need one of their services, please click “Send Message” to contact you.
For those offering their services, be aware of any current restrictions on public gatherings in your city due to the coronavirus outbreak. No one needs to give trouble to their neighbors, and there are many ways to help people on reference cards even while staying at home. For example, you can volunteer to make a phone check, go to the grocery store, or even leave food and other groceries you may already have.
For those who lack the social side of life these days, Nextdoor also launched a new group feature that allows neighbors to create small routines for specific topics. You can find and create new groups by clicking the Groups tab to the left of the Home tab. Neighborhoods can be a source of drama and anxiety even in the best of times – everyone loves gossip about neighbors – but the Groups tab can be a good way to organize even more help for neighbors who need it. Also, focusing on small groups and off-topic conversations can make it easier for some of us who start to experience home fever.