The Scottish Government has shared out funding of £600,000 among 13 projects in the first of a digital inclusion programme, with an initial focus on mental health and housing.
It has allocated the money under its Digital Inclusion Programme, which is led by the Digital Health and Care Directorate and delivered with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and Connecting Scotland.
Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, Michael Matheson said: “Supporting people to feel more digitally confident so they can access the services they need online is absolutely vital and it is one of our longstanding commitments.
“This programme will see models tested that will help so many people gain the skills they need to improve their own health and know how to access the support that is available to them.”
The projects granted funding are:
- Aberdeen Foyers Housing Digital Support (£54,867) to work with young people at risk of homeless.
- Blackwoods Digital Buddies (£55,000), led by Blackwood Homes and Care, for older people in supported living accommodation in rural areas.
- Simon Community Scotland’s Get Connected Housing (£54,982) for digital inclusion among homeless people.
- Prospect Community Housing’s Link Up (£31,310), setting up digital drop-ins for people with disabilities or long term health conditions in Wester Hailes.
- Shettleton Housing Association’s Shettleton Does Digital (£54,980), supporting older people who are not in work or retired to improve their digital confidence and access services.
- Link Living’s digital support service (£50,268) for young people in Edinburgh with moderate to severe mental health conditions.
- Digital Spaces in Community Places (£42,753), led by Queens Cross Housing Association, to provide digital cafés for older people and coding classes for younger people.
- Carr Gomm’s Connected Lives project (£54,677) for digital inclusion support across Glasgow’s integrated services.
- Saheliy Digital Pioneers (£54,773), which works with marginalised women in Edinburgh and Glasgow to increase their digital skills.
- The Moray Wellbeing Hub’s Digital Mental Health Capacity Building (£54,982).
- Enduring Digital Accessibility (£51,270), led by the Scottish Association for Mental Health, working with people in supported living.
- Cyrenians Digital Inclusion (£36,244), supporting people facing long term unemployment, transitioning from hospital care or living in residential care.
- Just Bee Productions for its Just Breath project (£54,229), with digital inclusion activities for people with mental health issues.
The programme is set to run for two years with the aim of supporting more than 1,500 people and developing a shared understanding of how best to support digital inclusion in mental health and housing.
