Digital inclusion for tenants

Many people, often older people, may not be making the most of opportunities available online that could help improve their lives.

This could be for a variety of reasons which this project aims to tackle;

• motivation - to understand why being online is of benefit or interest
• device - to connect to the internet with
• connectivity - to have affordable and reliable connection to the internet
• skills and confidence - in order to make use of being online.

Being digitally included allows more opportunities for people to;

• keep in touch with friends and family
• find out information
• shop and compare prices
• enter employment
• study
• volunteer
• make financial transactions.

Tenants who access the service usually work on a 1 to 1 basis learning what they want and need to learn initially. There are also some drop-in sessions, advertised locally, so that people can pop in for less intensive support.

There is also a current scheme where a tenant can be provided with a free device and a year's worth of free internet access, as well as support to get to know the device and get started on the Internet, if required. If you are interested, contact a Housing Worker who can apply on your behalf.

There are a number of guides to doing different online tasks available to download and you might also find this guide to using a smartphone useful.

One of our learners is Isa from Perth who has worked with Kev Heller, our Digital Inclusion Project Worker. Isa has been helped to access email, shop online, to take and send photos. She said, "I've learnt a lot. I wasn't at all confident about using the internet and I now have the confidence to access my apps, have downloaded others and can now send emails. I feel a lot more secure when online. Kev has the patience of a saint with people like me who haven't used a lot of technology previously."

If you think you, or someone you know who is a Council tenant, could benefit from some help to get online with a phone, tablet or personal computer, then please register your interest at tenantparticipation@pkc.gov.uk or on 01738 476239.

The Digital Inclusion project is explained by Kev and three other tenants in this five minute clip - click on the arrow to play. If you require subtitles, hover over the screen and select 'Subtitles/ closed captions' from the rectangle at the bottom of the clip.