Oct 14, 2025
Over the last year plans have been in place to refurbish the first floor at Croydon Central Library into a Digital Zone. A fantastic new facility including an events area, classroom and podcast studio.
We will be curating a programme there including drop in support for resident, community learning, awareness raising workshops and our new training for frontline workers and volunteers.
We help to launch the space with our Digital Horizons event on 23rd October as part of Get Online Week and Cyber Awareness Month
The Croydon Digital Zone project was funded by the Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) from The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) is administered by Arts Council England. Funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and Community Infrastructure Levy extended the refurbishment to the operational first floor.
https://news.croydon.gov.uk/mayor-perry-listening-to-croydon-19-september-2025
Oct 14, 2025
This weekend I participated in the annual Crime Prevention Day hosted by Croydon Neighbourhood Watch. Its an important calendar event bringing together Croydon council, police, trading standards, Fire Brigade to explore community safety within the Borough.
As a committee member and Cyber Ambassador my focus , as ever, was to make people aware of new trends and explore ways in which we can support each other as ‘Neighbourhood Champions’.
I focused on Sim Swap Fraud as well as the recent BBC documentary The Sextortion Killers which focused on deconstructing how real time impersonation is enabled through AI directly through to a live chat on SnapChat.
On a positive note we looked at Ask Silver and Daisy the AI Granny from 02 – who has been a hit wherever we have taken her 😉
We also presented the referral pathway we are working on to provide in person support for those surviving cyber crime or believe they have been compromised. This will look to link ActionFraud and the MET to community partners such as ourselves and the Cyber Helpline from one direction and Neighbourhoord Watch, statutory services and the charity sector from the other.
We support people with recovery plans and the means to be able to build their own cyber resilience in a supportive environment over a cup of tea.
In many respects we view this as the pastoral care side of things – something that requires a guiding hand, lots of listening and time.
For many people the anxiety surrounding either a cyber crime or the fear of it is simply too overwhelming and we have observed that this along can put people at risk.
The day was also an opportunity to launch ‘ClickSafe, Stay Strong’ a new initiative, in partnership with Renee at Croydon Community Leaders, to develop an awareness campaign and workshop resources to tackle online exploitation and cyber bullying for young people across the Borough – watch this space!
Last, but not least, another opportunity to connect with Barclays and the Scam Bus. Beth and Bernadette do a tireless job keeping people informed and better able to spot scams.
Aug 31, 2025
We’re proud to announce that we’ve been awarded a grant to support asylum seekers and refugees in Croydon. This funding will help us provide essential digital services and educational opportunities to those navigating new lives in the borough.
Many of these individuals are living in temporary accommodations while their claims are processed, or have recently been granted “leave to remain” status and need to quickly access online services for housing, healthcare, and employment.
Our support will be delivered primarily through our Online Services Support program at Thornton Heath Library and OurSpace Community Hub, and our Digital Drop-Ins at Age UK Croydon, Norbury Library, and Upper Norwood Library.
We believe in empowering people to help themselves. That’s why we’re offering access to computers, vital information, and free mobile data through the National Databank. This crucial first step allows us to connect people to further resources, such as ESOL classes and other learning opportunities.
We’re honoured to be one of 12 organizations working on this initiative, alongside experienced partners like Care4Calais, Croydon Refugee Day Centre, His Grace Evangelical House, OurSpace, and The Spires Centre. Together, we can make a real difference.
Aug 24, 2025
We’re proud to have hosted the inaugural Croydon Cyber Crime Awareness Day in partnership with Croydon Neighbourhood Watch – and what a success it was!
Over 50 residents packed Braithwaite Hall for an evening dedicated to understanding cyber crime’s types, scale, and local impact in Croydon.
Our fantastic speakers included:
- Ola Kolade (Cabinet Member, Community Safety)
- Cheryl Spruce (Neighbourhood Watch)
- Lee Ede (Croydon Trading Standards)
Plus our team covering everything from scam recognition to the new MET Engage system
We were joined by Barclays, The Cyber Helpline, and Safer Neighbourhood Teams, creating a comprehensive support network for residents.
We used this platform to launch our community-based support and referral point for residents who’ve been hacked or compromised.
Our goal: help people recover AND build resilience to prevent future attacks.
Looking Ahead The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with clear appetite for an annual event! Next year’s focus areas based on resident requests:
- Identity Theft
- AI Usage
- SIM Cloning
When communities come together to tackle cybercrime, we all become safer. Here’s to building digital resilience in Croydon! ️
Aug 2, 2025
Our annual volunteer celebration was the perfect opportunity to recognise the incredible contributions of our team and reflect on what we’ve achieved together.
Bringing Our Community Together
Working across 4 boroughs and different programme areas can make it challenging to foster team connections, so it was wonderful to see natural partnerships forming – particularly between volunteers at Orpington Methodist Church and Age UK Croydon. What better place to celebrate than where it all began: Upper Norwood Library Hub!
Local Impact, Regional Reach
While our heart is in hyperlocal digital inclusion support, helping residents navigate their digital challenges one-on-one, it’s equally important that our volunteers understand their broader contribution to regional and national change.
The Numbers Tell Our Story
Since 2022/23, our impact has been remarkable:
- Volunteers: DOUBLED
- Individual residents supported: TRIPLED
- Session attendance: QUADRUPLED
This growth demonstrates both our ability to scale and our responsiveness to the evolving needs within digital inclusion.
Community Partnership in Action
A huge thank you to Simply Lunch for providing wonderful catering for our celebration – the same corporate partner who recently supported our Office Upgrade to Windows 11. As they say, ‘a full belly makes a happy heart!’.
Here’s to our volunteers who make hyperlocal change possible every day.
Jul 27, 2025
Last week we ran the second of our Digital Horizons events in Bromley. Following on from our successful event in Orpington earlier in the year we wanted to bring it to Anerley Town Hall – the home of our first Bromley based digital drop-in and community learning programme.
This time we partnered with Penge PCN as a means to connect local GP practices directly to NHS App and other health App support we are now providing every Monday as a joint initiative.
Digital Horizons offers a range of information sessions and talks about the internet and accessing services as well as providing a community marketplace to find out about other local initiatives and well as primary care and wellbeing support in Bromley.
Over 60 residents turned out in hot weather
We provided an overview of the NHS App but importantly allowed a platform for people to discuss concerns and experiences. We had fabulous talks from Beth at Barclays about staying safe online, Beverley from Bromley Trading Standards about spotting scams, whilst Time from Clarion Futures guided us through the things to watch out for whilst shopping online and even through in a few prizes to boot.
The marketplace was jammed packed with representatives from MET Cyber Protect Team, The Cyber Helpline, Clarion, Barclays, SELCE, Community Links Bromley, Bromley Well, Citizens Advice Bromley, Bromley Well, Bromley Mencap, Bromley XbyX, SEL Mind, Upper Norwood Library Hub & Healthwatch Bromley.
Thanks to the Good Things Foundation we were able to donate a ChromeBook and Smart phone to two lucy residents.
I just wanted to extend a huge thanks to all who supported the event, helped on the day and of course to Crystal Palace Community Trust for always being there for us.
Our next Digital Horizons event will return to Orpington Methodist Church on 20th October as a part of Get Online Week and Cyber Awareness Month
