Seniors Housing & Healthcare Trends

LOS ANGELES: An innovative crowdfunding project has created and underpinned a digital cafe for the elderly.

Established in 1948, Glasgow’s Golden Generation (GGG) is Glasgow’s leading charity for the elderly. We currently support 2,000 service users across the city, c. 800 of whom will be living with some form of dementia. Our vision is that no senior citizen will be forgotten or neglected when they reach old age, and that they will receive the support they need to live life as fully and as independently as possible. Many of our service users live alone and have little or no support network.

During the pandemic our Day Centres were closed and our Social Clubs and Befriending Service were suspended and we had to think how can we connect with people in their own home to prevent further isolation. GGG developed an App which is free and available to anyone to download. It is packed full of videos including cooking demonstrations, sing-a-longs, dementia friendly comedy, puzzles and much more.

Of course we quickly realised that many of our service users didn’t have smartphones or tablets or even access to the internet so we sought funding to purchase tablets with mobile wi-fi and the app was pre-installed ready to use. Once all available devices had been distributed a key focus of the project became teaching the older adults how to make the most of their tablet computers.

During the pandemic the GGG Befriending Team hosted a Weekly Blether where older adults log on for a chat and it is still going now! GGG’s Digital Services have been a lifeline to older adults during the pandemic.

As restrictions eased we started to do more one to one support of older adults with digital literacy but following a few pilots we are now launching Digital Cafes. The cafes will be held within our Day Centres as well as taking them out and about to other venues like churches and sheltered housing. The cafes will help older people use their device and teach them to stay safe online but actually they will do so much more as they will bring older people together in a friendly setting and provide company and peer support as well.

Each café lasts for approximately one hour and will usually run for ten sessions on weekly/fortnightly basis, before opening the class up to a new group of learners. All attendees will be at different skill levels with regards to their digital capability. As such, the programme delivery is led by attendees. Topics which can be covered include sending an email, using iPlayer and STV Player, using Whatsapp, online security, online scams, downloading apps. Being able to digitally connect with family, particularly during lockdown, had a huge impact. At the end of each café the digital officer delivers a quiz on what has been discussed during the session; questions are sent out by email and attendees respond by email. Another way of increasing their digital capability.

Old age is a time when various factors can come together to make life difficult; declining physical health, mobility and sensory disabilities, financial insecurity, particularly in light of the cost-of-living challenges, threats to independence, bereavement and facing life alone, perhaps for the first time. Being digitally included is so important during this time of economic crisis. Being online enables you to save money on your energy by updating your meter readings regularly. Managing you bank account online enables you to have better control over your finances. Using price comparison sites for things like insurance can save hundreds of pounds. Shopping online enables you to shop around and get items for the best price as well as having things delivered directly to your door. Managing your finances online and paying by direct debit gives access to savings you don’t get if you are not online. Many of us take being online for granted and don’t think about the financial benefits it brings us. The Digital Cafes are enabling the older people we work with increased control over their spending and savings.

The digital team recently helped one service user to apply for their blue badge online, and they used the practical skills they had learned from our digital help to navigate through the online form themself. Service users will also be offered an assessment with our welfare team, to ensure that they are receiving all the grants and benefits they are entitled to. We know that digital security/scams are a big concern for many people, and we hope that they will be more confident about identifying these after attending the cafes.

Joseph, 68, recently retired from working as a train manager for the last 47 years. After giving up his work, he found himself with lots of spare time. He is single with no children or siblings, with some cousins but no close family. He found himself to be lonely and was looking for ways to fill his time.

Joseph was interested in completing some online courses, but he had barely ever used the internet and didn’t know where to start. His colleagues had gifted him a laptop as a retirement present, and he sought help from Glasgow’s Golden Generation after seeing a leaflet in the local library.

Shaun, our digital inclusion officer, met up with Joseph and discussed what his current ability was and the types of things he’d like to use his laptop for. Joseph had little to no knowledge of the internet and Shaun spent the first session helping to set up the laptop and creating an email account.

Over a few months, Shaun helped Joseph with practising sending emails back and forth, using Google to research courses, and even browsing through job websites so he could pick up a part time job.

With Shaun’s help, Joseph enrolled in some online maths, chemistry and physics courses. Tutors sent out the syllabus on paper, but it was up to Joseph to return completed work by email. Joseph is only a month into his new courses, and he is doing well with his assignments and is able to use the internet for further help and research.

The last time Joseph met up with Shaun, Joseph had some news – he’d been offered a part time retail job. Shaun had helped him with his application a few weeks before, and Joseph had successfully completed an interview and online test.

Joseph is awaiting his start date, and he is completing some standard online training.

When asked about why he was reluctant to embrace technology before, he said: “I think fears got a lot to do with it. Kids get computers at school these days, which obviously we never did. They grow up with technology, so they have a natural ability to use it. I saw a young child playing with a mobile phone on the bus the other day and it made me laugh because I barely know how to use one. But now I’ve gotten over that fear!

“These services are really important, and they should be well resourced and well-funded, today it is necessary to be computer literate”.

Joseph received weekly one-to-one sessions over three months, and is now a regular participant at a digital café each week.