Residents become 'tech-savvy' at Broomfield Gardens

A sheltered housing development in Airdrie have helped to develop their resident’s digital skills, after securing a grant from a local charity, The Voice of Experience Forum.

The North Lanarkshire charity awarded Broomfield Gardens Very Sheltered Housing Complex, a Bield care provider, with £1,400 to purchase iPads for the tenants so they can remain in close contact with their families.

Development manager at Broomfield Gardens, Yvonne McQueen, said: “I applied for the grant because the tenants wanted to learn new skills by going online.

“For their generation, using computers and the internet is still relatively new to many - although they all realised how much value it can bring to enrich their lives.

“The residents use the iPads to Skype and FaceTime, in particular, to contact loved ones which is hugely beneficial, especially for the tenants whose family cannot visit very often.”

Once the iPads had been received, many of the residents embarked on a six-week training course in order to learn more about the internet and the technology.

May Close, a resident at Broomfield Gardens, commented: “I have never used a computer before, the nearest I got to technology was using the remote control for my television.

“I have a daughter in Portugal that I have never been able to visit but the training classes have taught me how to use Skype so I am able to contact my daughter and her husband using the iPad.

“The first time we Skyped I couldn’t believe it was happening. I was able to see my daughter Anne’s house for the first time. “She took me on a tour and I showed it to the other residents. We were all talking to Anne during the training class. I absolutely loved it.”

Ms Close, added: “During week two of our training the staff did everything for me, but by week three I was able to work the iPad completely by myself and have been doing so ever since.”

The successful iPad project typifies Bield’s ‘free to be’ philosophy that aims to support residents to make their own choices about how they live their lives, while carers offer continuous support.

Bield is a registered charity and housing and services provider for around 20,000 older people across 23 Scottish authority areas.