Introducing GemBot
Adapting technology for survivor's needs
It's not too late to change our approach
After watching Learning from Survivors Who Have Never Accessed Services: Findings from the Texas State Plan, by the Texas Council on Family Violence, Beyond the Sparkle Foundation learned that around 90% of survivors don't reach out to domestic violence services.
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Beyond the Sparkle Foundation created GemBot to help survivors of domestic violence connect with resources in Dallas, Tx. GemBot is built on Facebook and uses Facebook Messenger.
Why Facebook and not another platform?
Of people using Facebook, Black Americans are also more likely to use Facebook to communicate with family and friends daily clocking in at 63%. Latinx American users clock in as the second most frequent users.
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The goal of this project is connect the people who face barriers to access with a safe set of resources, even if they don't feel safe talking with us about it.
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Our team is exploring other platforms?
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We have plans to build the bot out, so that it lives on our site and on other platforms. We are also exploring the volunteer hours it and localization techniques it might take to translate Gembot to Spanish.
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Right now, what we know is that to branch out to other places (especially rural ones), it will require funding and additional planning. You can keep up with our progress by signing up for the newsletter.
Find us: facebook/beyondthesparklefdn