Bond member discusses her daily safety routines as she navigates modern life.
For Hazel, the Bond app has changed her life. Her story continues to be written daily, of course, but we had a chance to speak with Hazel via the new norm in our social distanced Covid-19 world, a Zoom call, so she could share her experience in her own words. It’s an inspiring story of woman finding a way to live life better.
Hazel lives in Chicago with her boyfriend and commutes to a job at Venmo every day. She’s bubbly, bright, self-possessed, wonderfully intelligent and a has an ever-present, infectious smile. But, when she steps out of her front door, an unremitting social anxiety wraps itself around her. Something in life she can’t avoid. And, her neighborhood is, shall we say, edgy.
Bond is like “eyes in the back of my head” for Hazel when she commutes.
So, every time she goes to the grocery, her office, rides the train, she brings along a Bond Security Agent on her phone to settle her unease as she moves from point A to B through life. She’s spent enough time with the Bond Security Agents, that she has acquired a new nickname, Famous Hazel.
Her boyfriend has the app, as well. They use it to keep track of each other; to ensure they both get to work and back home safely. For Hazel, the live tracking service came sharply into focus when the BLM protests and rioting came close to her home. In fact, right next door. Rioters looted her corner store. During those days of upheaval, several members of her family downloaded Bond and they kept tight watch over each other with frequent security check-ins.
Of course, for someone with social anxiety commuting to work during that time of social turmoil, Hazel turned more and more frequently to the SA’s, and they would accompany her home and to work, acting, as Hazel said, “like eyes in the back of my head,” always on the alert just in case they needed to step in and orchestrate local authorities. “They could literally look over my shoulder and see what was happening behind me when I was speaking to them on video,” she continues. “That makes me relax.’
With Covid-19, the streets of Chicago have fewer people, which can cause anxiety.
She says, “at this point it feels like I’m talking to a trusted family member or friend,” when she speaks with the trained Personal Agents with whom she has spoken. And, of course, they all know Hazel’s schedules, and are ready to respond if they see a deviation in her daily routines.
Recently, Hazel was interviewed by Forbes.com to discuss her experiences with Bond. For her, having peace of mind as she makes her way through her day is “worth so much more to her than the monthly price, which is equivalent to the “cost of a Frappuccino,” she notes, intimating that for her it’s a no-brainer. A sentiment frequently echoed by Hazel and other Bond members that have embraced the services is that most people don’t think twice about insuring their car, home, apartment, health, even personal items such as TVs, jewelery and laptops. Why not their personal security? As Hazel and others have said, “especially in the world we live in today.”
“…most people don’t think twice about insuring their car, home, apartment, health, even personal items such as TVs, jewelery and laptops. Why not their personal security?”
But, this is not to say that members such as Hazel live in fear of stepping out into the world. Most members feel like they can take care of themselves in many situations. They’re your neighbors and friends just trying to live a happy, healthy life. It’s the just in case scenario, that starts when they genuinely ask themselves, “What if…?”
