Elizabeth’s story
Elizabeth wanted to learn how to join the digital world to gain independence. Her GP surgery contacted Digital Brighton & Hove to see how we could help her gain more independence. Elizabeth did not have access to any device or connection to the internet, and did not have an email address.
After meeting with Elizabeth to understand her personal needs, Digital Brighton & Hove provided a refurbished tablet from Tech-TakeBack and a mobile Wi-Fi unit (Mi-Fi) with a data SIM package.
Although Elizabeth had not used a tablet or the internet before, Elizabeth was optimistic and approached her new challenge with a positive outlook.
Elizabeth had several one-to-one sessions with a Digital Champion. They started off with the basics, like navigating the tablet and sending messages before getting more adventurous with downloading apps and doing some shopping online.
There were many hurdles to overcome, but together they persevered, learned, and found solutions that would allow Elizabeth to get the most out of her device. They created notes that Elizabeth was able to take home and practice with, leading to her making some amazing progress between sessions.
Since she started with the support from Digital Brighton & Hove, Elizabeth has been using the internet to shop online, catch up on TV, and even compare car insurance. By practicing what she has learnt in sessions and going out of her comfort zone, she has been able to truly take ownership of her device, saved money through visiting comparison sites and ultimately gained more independence.