Councillors Kenneth Duffy and Heather Brannan-McVey visited Allershaw Tower in Wishaw to meet some of the older tenants who have received new devices and access  to Wi-Fi.

Before the pandemic 96-year-old Isa Cox had never even used a computer, the online world was a mystery to her, now thanks to the support from Connecting Scotland and the council, she has received a brand-new iPad and support from a digital champion to help her navigate all these digital experiences.

Isa said “I have always been frightened of the internet and anything to do with it, I have never owned a computer never mind an iPad, when I was younger, we never had anything like this. 

"I didn’t know how to work it.  With the help from Meg in the complex I have an email address and downloaded apps.  When I was younger, I loved jigsaws, Meg downloaded a jigsaw app and it’s been great.  It keeps my mind active, and my family are now sending me family photos.”

Isa is not alone, her neighbour Ruby King also received a new iPad and is experimenting with facetime and connecting more with her family now she has her new device.

Ruby said, “My family have bought me a phone in the past, but this is the first iPad I have received, they would send me photos, but I never knew how to access them. 

"It took a bit of getting used to, but with Meg’s help I am feeling more confident, and I can now call my brother on facetime and actually see him when I am talking to him”.

Also enjoying his new iPad is John O’Hara, who is an avid football fan, he said “ I was a bit frightened at first, thinking I would break it, but I can now access the football and I’m a happy man.  Meg is now showing me how to access and send emails, which I never thought I would ever be able to do.”

Meg Stewart is the Retirement Officer in the complex and has now taken on the role of Digital Champion for her tenants, she said,

“You don’t need to be a technical expert. It’s about how you speak to the tenant, build up a relationship to increase their confidence and help them use their device. I have set up a drop in sessions for the tenants and they are now starting to come more frequently as they learn more about their new devices.  And we also have a laugh too.”

Councillor Kenneth Duffy, Transformation and Digitisation Committee Convener said, “The aim of this programme is to give our elderly tenants the ability to connect with their friends and family on a regular basis and improve their happiness and overall wellbeing.  It was fantastic to visit the complex and meet the tenants who have received the new devices and see how happy it was making them. 

Councillor Brannan-McVey, Housing and Regeneration Committee Convener added, “Getting online can improve an older person’s life in various ways by giving them more control over their own activities and improving their day-to-day quality of life.  We’d love to help a lot more people gain digital skills needed, it takes time and resources, and we are committed to supporting our elderly tenants.”

The project has been funded through Connecting Scotland and the Council were awarded 200 devices and MiFi boxes to support the project.  It was partnership project with the Council’s Housing Solutions, Service Integrator partner Agilisys and Digital NL’s Driving Digital Locally campaign.