SALT LAKE CITY — Hoang Ha’s phone rings every five minutes.
The 48-year-old computer programmer has been a busy man since he launched Neighbors Helping Neighbors in March, a website that pairs elderly or immunocompromised Utahns with nearby volunteers to do their grocery shopping and other errands, free of charge.
“This is basically my life now,” said Ha, who told the Deseret News in one month his website amassed over 800 volunteers across Utah and fulfilled over 500 requests. “I barely slept the last three days.”
And while constantly updating the website, filtering through requests and screening volunteers is contributing to his lack of sleep, there’s something else keeping him up at night — the people forced to retract their requests.
About a dozen of his clients have put in requests for groceries, medication or other essential items, only to cancel them when they realize they don’t have enough money.
“I have to tell these people, ‘unfortunately we can’t do anything, we don’t have any funds right now,’” Ha said. “That’s what the heartbreaking part is.”
So on Wednesday he created a GoFundMe account — if he gets enough donations, Ha hopes to offer up to $50 dollars to anyone who can’t afford basic groceries, medication and other essential items. Since it went live, the GoFundMe has raised around $1,000.
“$50 could’ve covered the cost of the medicine,” said Ha, recalling one case where an elderly client couldn’t afford prescription drugs for her autistic son. “Who knows, it could’ve saved a life.”
The stream of volunteers and requests doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon and neither is Ha, who has taken several days off from his regular job to focus on Neighbors Helping Neighbors. But he told the Deseret News he dreams of the day when he can shut his website down.
“I would be so happy if my website is no longer needed, that is the goal,” he said. “Not because it’s laborious or because it’s a pain, but because I want this to end.”