Our Southwark digital programme develops

Our Southwark digital programme develops

Oct 14, 2023

We are finally able to extend our digital programme to Southwark on an ongoing basis, providing a combination of our Digital Drop-Ins, workshops and courses alongside some very specific resident support.

First up we are working within the fabulous and newly built Appleby Blue Almshouses providing monthly mobile phone boot camps. From the 25th October we go back to the beginning and deep dive into using settings and helping to customize our phone so it works just right for us.

From the 7th November we also kick off our programmer of 6 -week courses with our popular Connect Up course which is open to all.

We have also been providing some individual assistance to residents, newly moved, to change utilities, access council services and ensure benefits are all changed to the new address.

Thanks to support from United St Saviours we have been able to make this happen.

After a summer spell of drop-in support and outreach workshops at the Tessa Jowell Centre, we have also started our first regular Digital Drop-in alongside Link Age Southwark at the United Reformed Church in East Dulwich.

Every Friday 2pm-4pm we are there to help build confidence with devices as well as to build awareness about the internet. We sit alongside the Friday Warm Hub and have already started to make friends!

We have more things on the horizon, including a programme if health app workshops and volunteer training, so watch this space.

We continue our talks in the NHS App and accessing GP Services online

We continue our talks in the NHS App and accessing GP Services online

Sep 23, 2023

We are running a series of workshops to raise awareness about the NHS App, My Care portal and other current technologies allowing us to access the NHS and manage our appointments.

It is a subject many people are cautious about and we are here to help with any questions and show you want it looks like so you can make a decision about what is right for you.

We are running these alongside our Mobile Phone Boot Camps and we currently have the following dates coming up:

Wednesday 27th September 2pm – 4pm

Purley Cross Centre, c/o Purley Baptist `Church, Banstead Rd, Purley, England, CR8 3EA

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/717132892787?aff=oddtdtcreator

Thursday 5th October 2pm – 4pm

Norbury Library

Beatrice Ave, Norbury, SW16 4UW

Wednesday 11th October 2pm – 4pm

Upper Norwood Library Hub

39 Westow Hill, Norwood, London SE19 1TQ

Monday 4th December 12pm – 1pm

Brigstock Road Community Hib

c/o Age UK Croydon 81 Brigstock Rd, Thornton Heath, CR7 7JH

No booking required, just turn up

What could AI mean to you? Digital Awareness Online discussion

What could AI mean to you? Digital Awareness Online discussion

Sep 23, 2023

We have resumed our Digital Awareness Online Programme with a new set of subjects to help us see a little into the future of Emerging Technology.

Last time we explored using Bard or ChatGPT as a tool to help us to gather information or help us to create templates for important letters so that the internet is less overwhelming, this time we will touch upon used within a care setting as well as some of the ethics around it.

Our aim is to introduce these subjects in a way we can all understand and feel part of the changes around us.

We have been asked to participate in this event on the 30th September, and are keen to get some thoughts and opinions from the group to take there and represent.

If you are interested in joining the debate, then please sign up here. If you are already a member of the group then you will be send a reminder as usual with the link.

Digital Drop-In schedule for Autumn is announced with 2 new venues

Digital Drop-In schedule for Autumn is announced with 2 new venues

Sep 23, 2023

Summer seems to have flown by and now we are back and ready for the Autumn ahead. We have an expanded schedule of Digital Drop-Ins; our friendly and informal spaces for local people to get help with the laptops, mobile phones or tablets.

We ensure our sessions are friendly, inviting and a place where you can ask questions about the things you are unsure about. You can also use these spaces to practice or work on self-learning with the support of our team.

We can also signpost you to other courses, workshops and support we can provide

With the exception of half term (23rd – 27th October) they run each week, are free to attend and no booking is required.

We are now working in 2 new venues in Norbury and East Dulwich

See our full schedule here

Hope to see you there

Engagement is Key!

Engagement is Key!

Jul 23, 2023

When we were starting out, someone once said to me that older people weren’t interested in technology, well I’m glad I didnt listen!

The pictures you see are but 2 of 16 different sessions we ran last week – a quiet week as we are already seeing people starting to peel off before the Summer.

Our programme consists of a range of Digital Drops-Ins, Workshops, Online Services Support, Community Learning courses and our online Digital Awareness social group. We also provide critical support in the home and dedicated work with disabled residents and others with access needs.

We directly helped over 500 local residents on 2022, across a mere 5 square miles in South London. Its only July and we have already exceeded this figure demonstrating both the need and the role the voluntary sector already plays in this area.

This is no surprise to us working on the ground but to broker trust, build confidence and provide access to services to the communities least able to or furthest away then you have to go out there.

Our work demonstrates, over and above anything else, that engagement is key and with engagement you can spark motivation and build confidence.

When reading reports such as the recent one written by the Communications and Digital Committee on digital exclusion and the findings from GetOnLineLondon and in Greater Manchester we must remember that an equal component in change is from within ourselves – and for that we must have a reason to engage, to learn and we must build upon quick wins we can do for ourselves.

If we feel coerced or that all this digital stuff is for someone else’s benefit or cost savings its no surprise there is resistance. When ‘technologies’ such as Test and Trace or the Emergency Alert are rolled out with poor communication or do not work its even harder to bridge this gap.

If people are ‘going digital’ for the first time at the point if crisis it should be no surprise that passwords get lost, vouchers are not claimed or that claim appeals go in late to the DWP.

The community building and outreach work we do is so crucial is helping to understand places, space and people, from here we have fighting chance of helping change happen.