Following on from the success of our previous loan programme, we have successfully secured further funding to be able to extend and reach out to support families in need of laptops.
During our first cohort, we were able to support a handful of local residents by providing laptops for remote learning, job applications and to freshen up their digital skills.
One resident has been able to access Zoom classes and keep up with meetings on his laptop, even taking it with him on holiday which allowed him to stay connected.
Another resident has been using his loan to take part in a technology course at Lambeth College, has been able to use it to complete assignments as well as make a CV and successfully apply for a part-time job at a Dental Surgery.
“I have no words to say thanks, it’s beyond thanks”
The next stage of this programme is to reach out and support families with children who are in need of laptops to support their remote learning. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted an already existing gap in support for families unable to access devices. Both primary and secondary schools require students to complete their homework online, access learning portals, and during isolation or lockdowns, attend classes online.
With the future of the pandemic still uncertain, support for families needing computer access at home is still critical.
We know that families who don’t have access to the devices they need have been dealing with extra stress and anxiety struggling to take turns on a single slow computer, or straining to do their homework on a tiny phone screen. We hope that with these laptop loans we can help families access the resources they need and take some of the pressure off so they can focus on what’s important to them.
We have a small number of laptops available for short and medium-term loans. Alongside this we are able to provide one-to-one support and signposting to other helpful resources in the community.
“This is a good scheme for people who haven’t got a laptop or for people who can’t afford to go out and buy them at the moment.”
This project has been funded by the Lambeth Digital Inclusion fund and our ongoing support by the Thrale RIN fund.
If you live in Lambeth and have children; you work in a school who would like to talk to us; or know of anyone who could benefit from this scheme, then more info can be found here.
