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St. Petersburg offers a nationwide hotline to support and coordinate help for people over 60 years of age. This age group faces the highest risk due to the spread of the new type of coronavirus COVID-19. This project is supported by the Roscongress Foundation, Association of Volunteer Centres, Medical Volunteers (a public movement of international cooperation), Volunteers of the Constitution movement, and Rostelecom. More and more volunteers and business partners are joining the #wearetogether initiative.

The hotline launched by the Roscongress Foundation received a total of over 160,000 calls. The main task of the call centre is to help volunteers ensure elderly people in isolation are provided with medications and food.

«Over two weeks since the start of the project, we have been able to optimize our resources and infrastructure. This helped us successfully implement the project. I am grateful to everyone supporting it. Today, everyone’s contribution is as important for the nation’s health as ever,» noted Alexander Stuglev, CEO and Chairman of the Roscongress Foundation.

As the coronavirus situation aggravates in Russia, the call centre gets more and more calls that are not directly related to its main purpose. Ever since the hotline was launched, it received over 160,000 calls from all Russian regions, including over 16.5 thousand requests. «Employees of the Roscongress Foundation teamed up and invested all their care and dedication in this hotline. They are committed to supporting people who are in need in this time of trouble. Call centre operators are based in different cities — Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok. The hotline team is made up of 150 people. We care about our employees. That is why some of them work from home. In case people are unable to reach other Russian hotlines, our operators call back within 24 hours. A significant workload is something our specialists are accustomed to. However, though it is mentally challenging, it is joyful at the same time. Every day we feel the gratitude the elderly send our way and we know they really need our help,» shared Maria Kiseleva, Head of the Roscongress Foundation’s Delegate Management Directorate and initiator of the project.

The most popular requests include domiciliary healthcare; unattainable inpatient admission or transportation to healthcare providers; medication provision; a higher demand for psychological support or social services (from domestic services to nursing care for people with disabilities) especially from lonely elderly people; and support measures for homeless people. Besides, there is a growing need for legal aid due to potential travel restrictions for country’s residents.

«The #wearetogether initiative swiftly became sought-after. People call and we support them — together. Through this project, our society becomes united and mobilizes to help the most vulnerable and fragile. It is important for all community services and non-profit organizations to team up through the use of this platform. Of course, we expect businesses to get involved as well. This is what the Innosocium Foundation is after around the clock. We would like to extend our gratitude to those who already joined our initiative and supported our project. We are looking forward to welcoming new partners: any help is important now,» said Elena Marinina, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the Innosocium Foundation.

See the Roscongress Foundation’s YouTube channel for more information.

02.04.2020