Page 39 - Yearbook issue try out

IGITAL inclusion has been – literally – a work on digital skills for both personal benefit and
lifesaver for many people during lockdown,
Dmaintaining links between family members,
and enabling businesses to keep afloat during
difficult times.
But many people, notably those on the streets, do
not have access to the essential technology that
allows them to communicate. In the modern world,
access to the internet and elementary digital skills
are vital not just for work, but for basic subsistence. needed to work remotely, collaborating online with
Beam is the world’s first crowdfunding platform
built to support homeless people through a
structured and tailored training programme and
into stable, paid work.
John: now an
electrician
Cknown charity for the homeless supported by
“WCIT has been particularly impressed by the
way Beam links donors and their beneficiaries,”
says Peter Kirby, our contact at Beam and also a
Freeman of WCIT. “You cannot overestimate the
positive effect of seeing strangers donating and
leaving encouraging comments. Equally, supporters
get an insight into the positive impact their money
is having, unlike many other forms of charity.”
Apart from a financial contribution, WCIT members
have advised on technical training and formal
vocational certification. Detailed advice has also
been given to individuals on how to look for a job,
reviewing CVs and giving practice interviews.
WCIT also has a long-standing affiliation with
Thames Reach, another hard-working charity
helping the homeless. The WCIT Charity has given
significant funding to this charity. This money has
helped to build an IT classroom with a trainer to
employment opportunities. This training focuses
on an understanding that too many homeless
people lack basic digital skills and access to the
internet – abilities needed even to claim benefits.
But how have we been able to help charities
further during lockdown? Early in the pandemic,
we received a flurry of calls from charities such as
Connection St Martin in the Fields which suddenly
one another and with their clients.
Others charities needed equipment and internet
connectivity, like Spitalfield’s Crypt Trust (SCT)
in East London, which helps people with drug or
alcohol addictions and complex needs to achieve
lasting recovery.
The knock-on effect from COVID-19 was, of
course, the wholesale closure of charity shops.
The lockdown hit their financial stability; happily,
government small business grants helped to offset
that. Nearly half of SCT’s staff were furloughed
mainly because many rough sleepers were quickly
housed in hotel accommodation and supported by
outreach teams from other organisations. But SCT’s
counselling and housing support work continued
via video conference and phone.
OVID-19 has inevitably had a massive impact
on rough sleepers. St Mungo’s, another well-
the WCIT Charity, remains at the forefront, running
operations in many of the London hotels housing
those previously on the streets.
We asked Petra Salva OBE, St Mungo’s Director of
Rough Sleeper, Ex-Offender and Migrant Services, to
tell us more. “We’ve been getting people coming in
off the streets who haven’t been accommodated for
years,” says Petra. “Some of our staff have been in
tears; there have been so many good news stories.”
In 20 years spent working in homelessness
organisations, Petra admitted she had never seen
the sector coming together in the way it has in 2020.
“People say it’s not possible to end rough sleeping,
but we’ve always maintained that it is, with the
right attitude and money. But it is a gargantuan
challenge,” she says.
And WCIT will continue to do what it can to help.