Facebook introduces ‘Community Help’ tool for communities to help each other through COVID-19

We’re announcing a new tool for the Myanmar community called ‘Community Help’ which connects people in need with those who want to help. The new feature enables people to offer assistance within their community, or request help with tasks from people in their local area.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen people turn to Facebook to connect with and take action to help their communities. People who are in the best position to help are often those physically closest, such as neighbors and members of the local community. We have also seen people who are the most vulnerable or on the frontlines of the pandemic response use Facebook as a means to get help or drum up support. Photo Source https://www.facebook.com/community_help

People can use Community Help for everything from delivering groceries to helping elderly neighbors, volunteering to distribute food through local food banks, or donating to fundraisers. Facebook Pages run by blood banks, food banks, community organizations, and local nonprofits can also post and offer services or make requests for volunteers.

Community Help can be accessed via the user menu in the Facebook app or by visiting www.facebook.com/community_help. Posts in Community Help list how far away the person is from you, and you can then respond with a comment publicly, or reply privately. When you make an offer to help, your post will go to all people who have requested help for that specific set of categories. When you request help, your post goes to all friends, as well as people who have offered help for that set of categories.

Here is a step-by-step guide to using the Community Help tool:

(1) First, sign in to your Facebook account.

(2) Tap on the three-bar icon on the top right of the Facebook app to see the user menu

(3) Select ‘Community Help’ and you will be taken to the tool

(4) Use the buttons to create a post to either Request Help or Offer Help. A window will appear.

(5) Fill up the details of your post and choose your preferred method of contact (Messenger or WhatsApp).

(6) Select the privacy setting (public, friends of friends, or friends).

(7) Set your location according to the city you are based in, then select the radius i.e. 10km.

(8) Tap on ‘Post’ for it to be published. Photo Source https://www.facebook.com/community_help

Most businesses can post to Community Help through their page if they are able to offer support in their local community. However, businesses are not allowed to sell any goods or share promotional material through Community Help.

All posts in Community Help are reviewed by Facebook’s content moderation team, and if they violate our Community Standards, they will be taken down. Our community is also encouraged to report inauthentic posts. Moreover, the product experience is limited to people aged 18 years and above.