Social distancing brings communities together

Shanghai resident Justin O'Jack's pet cat, a black Bombay named Galaxy, threw up several times last week. Since the local veterinarian was closed because of the citywide lockdown in Shanghai, O'Jack and his wife turned to fellow pet owners for advice at the Jingcai Celebrity Compound in Changning district where they live.

"Neighbors suggested we feed her soft canned cat food instead of dry food, but we did not stock up on canned food before the lockdown and pet supplies are difficult to find," he said.

However, the problem was resolved by O'Jack's neighbors who without hesitation delivered several packs of high-quality canned cat food to his door, which Galaxy quickly devoured. The next day, the cat had fully recovered.

In the compound of over 200 residents, personalized needs are being fulfilled not by group purchasing or online shopping amid the lockdown that has lasted for over three weeks, but through the kindness of neighbors.

The community-minded trend was inspired by a goods donation platform, initiated by volunteers in the compound on April 7.Through a shared document, residents can list the goods they can donate or that they are in need of, submitting their names, apartment and contact numbers.

Resident volunteers in the apartment building are responsible for disinfecting and delivering the goods from the donors to the receivers every day. The status of what has been delivered is then updated in real time.

Since April 12, residents have been able to complete the deliveries by themselves, after the building was downgraded from a lockdown zone, where residents are required to stay at home, to a precautionary zone, where limited activities are allowed within the community.

A sharing table was set up in the lobby of the apartment building, where residents are free to take or donate things.

"The original purpose of the platform was to reduce the exposure risks to COVID-19 caused by group purchasing outside the neighborhood and to meet personalized needs besides groceries," said Bai Ru, a resident volunteer in charge of the platform.

"The platform encourages residents with superfluous goods to help those in dire need," she added.

During the first week of the lockdown in April, for example, O'Jack's family had more fresh vegetables than his family of three could consume. He sent a bag of vegetables via the platform to an elderly couple in the building who were unfamiliar with group purchasing.

"The following week, after the couple learned the group purchasing process, they returned to us an even bigger bag of groceries," he said.

The neighborly spirit and kindness were gradually extended to fields beyond food, according to Pan Xiaoying, another resident volunteer supervising the platform.

Days ago, some children had an accident while playing indoors. Fortunately, thanks to the platform, the kids received professional medical treatment from fellow residents in the complex who are a doctor and a nurse, Pan recalled.

"The doctor and nurse are parents of my daughter's playmate, and they were only too eager to make a free house call to help neighbors in need. Because they live just a few floors apart, the children received medical attention even faster than if they had gone to the emergency room," O'Jack said.

"In the past weeks, I met many neighbors who I only saw in passing before the current outbreak. It is reassuring to know that caring neighbors look out for each other during difficult times and the social distancing in many ways has brought us closer in spirit," he said.

"The experience has only strengthened my impression of the Shanghai people's resilience and generosity. I have every confidence we will get through this challenging period and come out the other side even stronger," added O'Jack, who has lived in the city for 18 years.

Furthermore, this approach to mutual assistance is expected to endure after the latest wave, according to Bai.

"When our life returns to normal and essential needs are fully met, the approach can still motivate residents to offer help to the community, such as taking care of pets while their owners are away," Bai said.

"Daily maintenance of the platform will gradually be accomplished by technology, instead of manually, and we will make it more user-friendly to foreigners and accessible to seniors," she added.

"It could be an effective way to solve community issues at the lowest cost, thanks to citizen participation."

The practice might be a possible social innovation project for graduates in digital innovation from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts for further research and development.

"It's surprising to find opportunities for social development out of a crisis," added Bai, who is also a vice-director of an art education studio at the academy.