IT Project – Getting Connected

2nd September 2020

When social distancing and mass closure of public buildings became the norm, access to free internet was no longer available and it made the struggle for some families even more difficult. Dalton Together recognised that there was a need to ensure that vulnerable households had access to appropriate IT equipment that fulfilled their individual needs. Some of the families targeted were already connected to the internet, but were considered to be under connected because they relied on mobile phones, which were not capable of carrying out the required tasks effectively. For Dalton Together, with the support of a grant from the Community Foundation, to be able to give families the equipment that they desperately needed was a good opportunity to raise the profile of our emerging group.

By talking to the recipients we realised that we hadn’t just given them some extra data, a tablet or a laptop but we had provided them with the means to

Access online help and guidance with regard to their children’s education.

Connect to online services important to their family’s health and wellbeing.

Make a positive impact on theirs and their children’s mental health by reducing isolation, anxiety, loneliness and stress.

The project also allowed Dalton Together to fulfil some of its other objectives by establishing excellent working partnerships with service providers and local businesses, as well as, contributing to the local recycling agenda by refurbishing and reusing old laptops, when possible.

Although there are a number of benefits which can be attributed to this project the most important outcome has to be that we have helped families and individuals, like the ones listed below, stay connected during the ongoing crisis, whilst at the same time reducing anxiety, loneliness and stress through access to help and services via the internet.

A lady and two children fleeing domestic violence and needing access to the internet to sort out finances, children’s education and to online shop as she was too scared to leave her temporary accommodation.

An 86 year old who had been shielding for 13 weeks and desperately wanted to make visual contact with family members who lived away.

A primary school child whose mental health was suffering because she was isolated from friends who had returned to school. She was unable to return because she lives in a household with her mother and older sibling, who has additional needs. She was trying to do school work on an old mobile phone which, when not buffering, constantly crashed.

We have now spent all of the money awarded to us and are presently having to manage expectations, until we can secure additional funding to continue with the work that we have started.

Dalton Together is rapidly establishing itself as an important part of our community and it will only continue if we can attract more volunteers to continue the work that we have started. If you are interested in volunteering, it does not have to be a weekly commitment, please get in touch via the website or email us at info@daltontogether.co.uk