Reflection – Storytelling 

 CHALLENGE 

 With this project , I aim to coordinate the community ’s efforts to help neighbors in the context of social   distancing amidst Covid-19 . Specifically , I want to explore how elderly neighbors can get access to the   help they need within the community . The community I am focusing on is located in the apartment   complex I live in ( twelve renting parties , some of which live with family members , some alone ) . The   apartment complex is located in a large city with a population of 3,7 million , so in general people are   used to living with a certain degree of anonymity . When Covid-19 broke out and the government first   introduced social distancing measures , many were eager to help neighbors that are more vulnerable ,   specifically the elderly and those with underlying health conditions . Neighbors would offer their help   with everyday errands such as grocery shopping , walking dogs etc . These efforts were offered in a   closed Facebook group . 

 I noticed that there were plenty of offers available , but hardly any takers , which was not surprising to   me , based on my assumption that the elderly , a large group of those who require help , oftentimes   struggle with technology and information access online . Additionally , as I mentioned earlier , we live in   a large city with anonymity between different tenants - interactions on a day - to - day basis are limited   to greeting each other when running into one another in the hallway . In an environment as such ,   community building is already challenging under normal circumstances . With social distancing in place ,   it becomes even more difficult . 

 SELECTION 

 I chose the storytelling tool as its main aim is to create empathy , which I believed to be most suitable   when trying to connect people of different age groups , backgrounds and circumstances . By telling a   personal story of my grandmother ’s experience during the pandemic , I had hope to achieve two things :   Firstly , I wanted to help those offering their help with little to no responses to identify how to distribute   the offers more appropriately . Secondly , telling the story of my grandmother may help those on the   receiving end - in this case , the elderly neighbors – tell their story to further help identify how to help   them in the difficult times we are facing . The Good Kitchen Story featured in the first week of the   Coursera course “ Design Thinking for Innovation ” inspired me to look at the needs of elderly people ,   although the Design Thinking tools used in this particular project were others . Eventually , it was a TED   talk on “ The magical science of storytelling ” by David JP Phillips with its focus on the positive scientific   impact storytelling has that convinced me that this was the right tool to use to invite the community   to empathize with one another . 

 APPLICATION 

 I applied the storytelling tool by telling the story of my grandmother ’s experiences during the course   of the pandemic to the community . My grandmother is one of the many elderly people whose lives   and daily routines have changed since the pandemic . While she used to be able to go out and buy her   own groceries and have regular human interaction , local restrictions have prevented her from doing   so since March . As a result , she spends most of her time watching TV and walking in the house . As she 

 lives in a different city from mine of similar size , and as I was unable to travel , we asked a family friend   to check in on her from time to time and buy groceries for her . When talking to my grandmother on   the phone I was surprised to hear that she would mention our family friend coming by almost daily to   drop off groceries . I found that strange , as surely there was a more practical way of doing shopping   without having to stop by every day . I offered to have food delivered to my grandmother , which both   her and our friend rejected . After speaking to my grandmother more regularly and piecing together   the story , I came to realize that this was much more than errand running on both sides . By spending   most of her day watching TV , most my grandmother hears about are the negative impact the pandemic   has had and continues to have on everyone . She is concerned and needs people around her who help   her stay connected and process her feelings . While the digital age offers so many solutions to stay   connected for those of us who are technology affine , my grandma had not been able to benefit from   the many online resources , as she simply can not use a computer .   As a result , my grandmother started   a routine of cooking for the friend who would drop off groceries , who works during the day and does   not have time to cook for herself . They would sit down together , share a meal and talk . What they have   developed by now is a friendship , and the grocery shopping is just a pretext to continue seeing each   other . 

 I told the story of my grandmother to a group of eager community members , to kick off a brainstorm   exercise . After realizing that running errands was only one aspect elderly people are struggling with ,   we explored what would need to be done to make the elderly feel more connected and less lonely .   One of the ideas that we have started testing is simply calling the elderly neighbors and having   conversations with them , and combining this with offering to run errands . Individual neighbors have   started connecting with elderly community members to see if these phone calls are a positive way to   connect . So far , the responses have been positive . The other learning the story illustrated was that   elderly people who need to be contacted offline rather than in an online space which many might not   be able to access . We are currently addressing this by printing relevant pamphlets and distributing   them within our apartment building . 

 INSIGHT 

 Applying the storytelling tool helped shift the focus of the challenge I was aiming to fix to what is a   more pressing issue , which also needs to be addressed . I initially thought the issues with the   coordination of help was mostly of administrative nature , and the problem could be solved by   presenting the offers of help in a different form or space . The above story of my grandmother illustrates   that while running errands for elderly people is a nice gesture , the underlying issue elderly people may   be facing in this difficult period is a different one : Experiencing isolation and loneliness in times of   great uncertainty . While this may be a common issue for elderly people in large cities such as mine in   “ normal ” times , the pandemic and constant media coverage may now have an even greater negative   impact on their mental health . The storytelling tool therefore helped uncover the underlying issue of   isolation of the most vulnerable during the pandemic . 

 Since talking to my grandmother more regularly to understand her story , I have gained a heightened   sense of the emotional toll this pandemic has had on many who are already vulnerable under normal   circumstances . Retelling the story invites others to understand and consider a view different to their   own . Of course telling the story of one person comes with its limitations : I realize that my grandmother 

 is not a perfect representation of every elderly person in the building . However , is does illustrate that   solutions need to be made with the individual person on the receiving end in mind . 

 APPROACH 

 During the course of the project , I realized that this was only the first step in a larger effort of building   community . I found that applying the storytelling tool encourages broadening the scope of this project   by hearing and telling the stories of our community members . I would like to continue by further   relying on the storytelling tool as I could see the positive effect sharing a story has on building trust   and empathy . I would expand the scope of the project by asking members of the community -my   neighbors- to share their story after offering mine . This would give us a better insight as to what   specific issues individuals in our community face , and eventually help identify a way to tackle their   specific problems . I imagine that by using the storytelling tool and inviting others to use it and share   their stories and insights , we may be able to connect people of different generations , bring in fresh   perspective and build the basis of a solid community that supports one another during the pandemic   but also in post - pandemic times . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Storytelling 

 CHALLENGE 

 With this project , I aim to coordinate the community ’s efforts to help neighbors in the context of social   distancing amidst Covid-19 . Specifically , I want to explore how elderly neighbors can get access to the   help they need within the community . The community I am focusing on is located in the apartment   complex I live in ( twelve renting parties , some of which live with family members , some alone ) . The   apartment complex is located in a large city with a population of 3,7 million , so in general people are   used to living with a certain degree of anonymity . When Covid-19 broke out and the government first   introduced social distancing measures , many were eager to help neighbors that are more vulnerable ,   specifically the elderly and those with underlying health conditions . Neighbors would offer their help   with everyday errands such as grocery shopping , walking dogs etc . These efforts were offered in a   closed Facebook group . 

 I noticed that there were plenty of offers available , but hardly any takers , which was not surprising to   me , based on my assumption that the elderly , a large group of those who require help , oftentimes   struggle with technology and information access online . Additionally , as I mentioned earlier , we live in   a large city with anonymity between different tenants - interactions on a day - to - day basis are limited   to greeting each other when running into one another in the hallway . In an environment as such ,   community building is already challenging under normal circumstances . With social distancing in place ,   it becomes even more difficult . 

 SELECTION 

 I chose the storytelling tool as its main aim is to create empathy , which I believed to be most suitable   when trying to connect people of different age groups , backgrounds and circumstances . By telling a   personal story of my grandmother ’s experience during the pandemic , I had hope to achieve two things :   Firstly , I wanted to help those offering their help with little to no responses to identify how to distribute   the offers more appropriately . Secondly , telling the story of my grandmother may help those on the   receiving end - in this case , the elderly neighbors – tell their story to further help identify how to help   them in the difficult times we are facing . The Good Kitchen Story featured in the first week of the   Coursera course “ Design Thinking for Innovation ” inspired me to look at the needs of elderly people ,   although the Design Thinking tools used in this particular project were others . Eventually , it was a TED   talk on “ The magical science of storytelling ” by David JP Phillips with its focus on the positive scientific   impact storytelling has that convinced me that this was the right tool to use to invite the community   to empathize with one another . 

 APPLICATION 

 I applied the storytelling tool by telling the story of my grandmother ’s experiences during the course   of the pandemic to the community . My grandmother is one of the many elderly people whose lives   and daily routines have changed since the pandemic . While she used to be able to go out and buy her   own groceries and have regular human interaction , local restrictions have prevented her from doing   so since March . As a result , she spends most of her time watching TV and walking in the house . As she 

 lives in a different city from mine of similar size , and as I was unable to travel , we asked a family friend   to check in on her from time to time and buy groceries for her . When talking to my grandmother on   the phone I was surprised to hear that she would mention our family friend coming by almost daily to   drop off groceries . I found that strange , as surely there was a more practical way of doing shopping   without having to stop by every day . I offered to have food delivered to my grandmother , which both   her and our friend rejected . After speaking to my grandmother more regularly and piecing together   the story , I came to realize that this was much more than errand running on both sides . By spending   most of her day watching TV , most my grandmother hears about are the negative impact the pandemic   has had and continues to have on everyone . She is concerned and needs people around her who help   her stay connected and process her feelings . While the digital age offers so many solutions to stay   connected for those of us who are technology affine , my grandma had not been able to benefit from   the many online resources , as she simply can not use a computer .   As a result , my grandmother started   a routine of cooking for the friend who would drop off groceries , who works during the day and does   not have time to cook for herself . They would sit down together , share a meal and talk . What they have   developed by now is a friendship , and the grocery shopping is just a pretext to continue seeing each   other . 

 I told the story of my grandmother to a group of eager community members , to kick off a brainstorm   exercise . After realizing that running errands was only one aspect elderly people are struggling with ,   we explored what would need to be done to make the elderly feel more connected and less lonely .   One of the ideas that we have started testing is simply calling the elderly neighbors and having   conversations with them , and combining this with offering to run errands . Individual neighbors have   started connecting with elderly community members to see if these phone calls are a positive way to   connect . So far , the responses have been positive . The other learning the story illustrated was that   elderly people who need to be contacted offline rather than in an online space which many might not   be able to access . We are currently addressing this by printing relevant pamphlets and distributing   them within our apartment building . 

 INSIGHT 

 Applying the storytelling tool helped shift the focus of the challenge I was aiming to fix to what is a   more pressing issue , which also needs to be addressed . I initially thought the issues with the   coordination of help was mostly of administrative nature , and the problem could be solved by   presenting the offers of help in a different form or space . The above story of my grandmother illustrates   that while running errands for elderly people is a nice gesture , the underlying issue elderly people may   be facing in this difficult period is a different one : Experiencing isolation and loneliness in times of   great uncertainty . While this may be a common issue for elderly people in large cities such as mine in   “ normal ” times , the pandemic and constant media coverage may now have an even greater negative   impact on their mental health . The storytelling tool therefore helped uncover the underlying issue of   isolation of the most vulnerable during the pandemic . 

 Since talking to my grandmother more regularly to understand her story , I have gained a heightened   sense of the emotional toll this pandemic has had on many who are already vulnerable under normal   circumstances . Retelling the story invites others to understand and consider a view different to their   own . Of course telling the story of one person comes with its limitations : I realize that my grandmother 

 is not a perfect representation of every elderly person in the building . However , is does illustrate that   solutions need to be made with the individual person on the receiving end in mind . 

 APPROACH 

 During the course of the project , I realized that this was only the first step in a larger effort of building   community . I found that applying the storytelling tool encourages broadening the scope of this project   by hearing and telling the stories of our community members . I would like to continue by further   relying on the storytelling tool as I could see the positive effect sharing a story has on building trust   and empathy . I would expand the scope of the project by asking members of the community -my   neighbors- to share their story after offering mine . This would give us a better insight as to what   specific issues individuals in our community face , and eventually help identify a way to tackle their   specific problems . I imagine that by using the storytelling tool and inviting others to use it and share   their stories and insights , we may be able to connect people of different generations , bring in fresh   perspective and build the basis of a solid community that supports one another during the pandemic   but also in post - pandemic times .
### Output: 