How computers can be a lifeline

When Reuben went blind he had to give up everything. He is a member of a Community Voices supported group in Cornwall called VisAbility. He says that when he first lost his sight he bought a computer and it became a real lifeline for him. Now he is a digital ambassador in his community, always telling others about the benefits that computers and IT can have for other blind people.

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.