I created AlerteUnité because I had to.
Not for profit. Not for recognition. The places I grew up — neighborhoods like Delmas 30, 32, Pacot, Carrefour and Santo in Port-au-Prince — are being torn apart. These are the streets of my childhood, where real families now sleep on floors to avoid bullets coming through their windows.
Every day, these communities show me what true resilience looks like. They send me suggestions on how to make the platform work better for others. They remind me that even in darkness, hope inspires people to keep going, to find ways to thrive.
The feedback from our early adopters and their unwavering support of our mission made something incredible happen – together, we’ve created a tool that communities beyond Haiti have embraced as their own. From a handful of users in Haiti, we’ve grown to over a thousand people using AlerteUnité – many joining from Congo and Venezuela, places facing their own versions of this nightmare. What started in Port-au-Prince neighbourhoods is now helping people stay connected across countries because these users shaped every feature with their real experiences.
It keeps me going. Witnessing how our communities respond in their darkest moments makes it impossible for me to ever give up. People who wake up to gunfire, who must calculate the risk of fetching water, who’ve lost loved ones to senseless violence – they still trust in our mission. When they could focus solely on survival, they choose connection instead. Their faith in what we’re building together demands that I carry this through, no matter what obstacles we face.
With barely any electricity and internet that cuts out constantly, they get on AlerteUnité to send anonymous messages of comfort to strangers. They warn others about dangerous areas. They check in on neighbours. They build safety nets out of nothing but courage and care.
This isn’t just an app to them. It’s become a lifeline, a community, a way to say “you are not alone” when everything else suggests otherwise.
A Call to the Diaspora
To my fellow Haitians in the diaspora – I’m not here to place blame. I understand how the constant stream of crises can normalize what should never be acceptable. When disasters strike so frequently, when our homeland is portrayed as nothing but problems in the media, it’s easy to become desensitized, to believe this is just “how things are.”
But we know better. This violence, this suffering is not normal. It never should be.
We have power that our communities back home don’t have right now. We have voices that can be heard in places they cannot reach. We have skills – in technology, business, healthcare, education, art, advocacy – that can help elevate their work and preserve the heritage we’re all so deeply proud of.
The government is overwhelmed. They need our networks, our expertise, our connections to help them prioritize effectively. We cannot be the ostrich with its head in the sand while our people innovate solutions with so little. If we claim to honour our heroes, we must act with their same courage.
Moving Forward Together
AlerteUnité shows what’s possible when community needs drive innovation. Imagine what more we could accomplish by combining their resilience with our resources.
AlerteUnité isn’t my app. It belongs to every person who opens it hoping to find safety, to offer comfort, to be part of something bigger than their fear.
It’s all of us. And all of us need to do more.
Tassianna
Join the AlerteUnité Community:
- Download AlerteUnité on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alerteunite
- Get it on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/alerteunit%C3%A9/id6529529849
- Follow our journey: @AlerteUnite Instagram
- Learn more: https://www.afterfivecollective.com