Combating isolation online

New Horizons Borders is a user lead charity for people with mental health problems in the Scottish Borders. The committee which is made up of members of the different groups in towns across the area decided that members needed a way of communicating with eachother outside of their drop in times.

The rural nature of the Scottish Borders makes life there isolating for some people, and the harsh weather can mean that during the winter months the drop in sessions can’t always happen. So they wanted to be able to support eachother at any time.

They applied to Community Voices for support to create a Ning site, which is an online social media site on which people can create their own profiles, add status updates, and message eachother. What they liked about Ning the most is that it can be a private network, and so can be restricted to only members of the group, which would make them feel safer when talking about their mental health and other personal issues.

So we gave them a small amount of funding to pay for the Ning subscription and arranged training for them on how to create and maintain the network themselves. One member of the group, Terry, says it’s going to be a real lifeline:

And Helen who took part in the training and was part of the group that created the site says she got a lot out of it:

The next step for New Horizons will be to train up the members in how to use the site, and how to get support on there. They’re identifying ‘champions’ who are more IT literate in each of the groups to show the others how the site works.

“Instead of talking about our aches and pains now we talk about websites”

Community Voices is supporting a group of older ladies in St Helen’s who wanted to learn how to get online. A small amount of funding enabled them to organise weekly classes at which they have gone from the basics of how to use a mouse, to how to shop online. They also had some computers donated by their sheltered housing scheme that they are able to practise on.

We got many applications from similar sheltered housing schemes wanting to run  ’get online’ type projects for older people. In fact a third of all our applications were from such groups; but the application from this group stood out a mile. It was written by one of the members of the group, Margaret. She said: “I hear about families keeping in contact with each other abroad on Skype, hear about people taking advantage of cheap holidays and cheap shopping, hear about dating websites that older people use to meet new partners. I want to stop listening and get learning!” We loved the community drive and passion to get online behind this application.

I was lucky enough to visit the group before Christmas and observe one of the lessons in action. The impact has been amazing with many of the ladies feeling less isolated due to being able to keep in touch with family and friends more easily, and being more able to access public services and do things like online shopping to make their lives easier.

Rose told me what difference getting online had made to her.

Merry Christmas from Moving On

Moving On is an older people’s digital music group in Reading. They get together weekly to sing and make music using digital technology like iPads and Khaos Pads. They also do gigs around Reading at local festivals and community centres.

This year they have made their own Christmas e-Card to wish all their fans a Merry Christmas. Check it out.

Feeling festive?! Find out how the e-Card was made, and what Readipop is all about here.

An introduction to Asset Based Community Development

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to an event organised by Forever Manchester.  The event was an introduction to Asset Based Community Development, a method of working with communities that originated in the US and found a launch-pad in Seattle under the charismatic leadership of Jim Diers.

After the workshop I was able to interview Cormac Russell, Managing Director of Nurture Development, who has also now launched the ABCD Institute Europe, about the approach that underpins this way of working.

A place you can turn to for help

Last time you had a problem where did you turn for help? Was it friends? An organisation? Your local library or Citizen’s Advice Bureau? Or was it the internet? Well apparently more and more of us are turning to the internet to find solutions to problems in our lives.

Last year the Telegraph reported that 9 in 10 young people will look for help on the internet before they ask their parents. Perhaps a more extreme example; following the disastrous earthquake in Japan earlier this year the internet was an invaluable way of sharing and consuming information and even finding missing loved ones, as Discovery News reported.

It is no surprise then that a group of people with disabilities in Wales have realised that the internet may be a great way of supporting local people with disabilities. Newport Access Group are volunteer lead and campaign about access issues in their town. Until this year they have had no internet presence and have applied to Media Trust to get help to make their own website. They are going to be taking part in training over the next couple of months and hope to have a website up by February.

I caught their Treasurer, Gwyn, on camera as he drove me back to the station after a visit. He said he hopes the website will provide the support he never had when he first became disabled.