The challenge
When someone nearby needs help, a general social post can be hard to find, assess, and follow through. The app needed to connect local requests with people able to respond while supporting trust.
// CASE STUDY 02
CROWDSOURCED COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE
LocalAid
A native Android platform connecting nearby residents who need help with community members ready to respond.
- Role
- Android application development
- Platform
- Native Android application
- Core stack
- Kotlin · Firebase · Google Maps
// 01 / THE STORY
Why this was built.
The approach
I organized requests by urgency, category, duration, and barangay, then linked each offer of help to a direct conversation. Verification, ratings, and a fulfillment state make the exchange more accountable.
What it delivers
LocalAid gives residents a place to request assistance, discover nearby needs, coordinate in real time, and mark a request complete with feedback for the helper.
// 02
Key capabilities
Designed around discovery, trusted coordination, and accountable fulfillment.
- Create categorized requests for emergency, agriculture, household, and general needs
- Set request urgency, duration, barangay, and specific location
- Browse, search, and filter open requests by category, urgency, and location
- Verified-user checks before posting requests or contacting helpers
- One-to-one conversations connected to individual help requests
- Chat messages with image attachments and live location sharing
- Request fulfillment workflow with automatic chat archiving
- Helper ratings and written feedback after fulfilled requests
- Category-weighted help points and community leaderboard
- Profile management with photos, location, and verification status
- In-app and Firebase Cloud Messaging notifications
- Emergency broadcasts for urgent community requests
// 03
Technology
A native Android client backed by Firebase data, storage, and messaging services.
- Mobile
- Kotlin, Android SDK, XML layouts, and View Binding
- Architecture
- Android ViewModel, LiveData, RecyclerView, and Navigation
- Backend
- Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Cloud Storage
- Notifications
- Firebase Cloud Messaging and Node.js Cloud Functions
- Location
- Google Maps SDK and fused location services
- Supporting tools
- Glide, Kotlin Coroutines, OkHttp, and EmailJS
// SOURCE & CONTACT