Link Group has helped almost 800 low income and digitally-excluded households across Scotland get online by distributing iPads, Chromebooks and mi-fi (personal hotspot) units across 14 local authority areas since 2020, alongside training from ‘digital champions’.
Ken Fox, director of digital services, Link Group, said, “It has been incredible to work with our partners and the Scottish Government to ensure our tenants, particularly those who are vulnerable and isolated, have access to digital services.
“The pandemic highlighted how important it is that people can connect digitally, and the impact this project has had on people’s lives has been transformative.”
The rollout of the hardware devices and training was made possible by Connecting Scotland, a Scottish Government initiative managed by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, set up in response to the pandemic.
One of the first areas to benefit was LinkLiving’s older persons’ service in Fife where Link’s staff distributed iPads to over 65s so they could join in with weekly ‘digital social cafes’.
One participant said, “I really enjoy the digital cafes. At first, I wasn’t sure because I’d never used an iPad before, but I was given lots of help. It really gives me something to look forward to each week.”
