How Get Box Supports Refugees, Care Leavers and Families in Bury
In a church hall in Bury, a mutual support group for refugees and asylum seekers plugs in their Get Box and links their laptops. By getting online, the team of volunteers can help local people work on immigration forms, send emails, sort out E-Visa’s, and book appointments.
This solidarity group - The Eagles Wing - has been running since the early 2000s; it welcomes and befriends people newly arrived to the UK. The group has 50 members and 20-30 people come by each week to get advice, support and guidance.
The church hall doesn’t have internet, and for a long time volunteers used mobile data. Now they have a Get Box, it’s easier to help people get online. Members of the group - often who have lived experience of being a refugee or asylum seekers - help people in and around Bury with whatever they need; doctors or dentists appointments, speaking with schools, education, job searches or immigration.
Meeting three times a week, the group also offers English classes and craft workshops, alongside their digital drop ins. It’s a way to make friends with local people and be welcomed into a new area, as well as accessing essential services online.
“The EVisas have become a really big thing, which is why digital inclusion initiatives are so important. We need access to technology because the physical cards have expired; they aren’t going to be used as forms of ID anymore.” - Bury Council
Bury Council has donated tablets and laptops to the group, as well as distributed the Get Box through a partnership with Jangala.
Care leavers
Many care leavers find their own tenancy at 16, but struggle with their finances. The ‘cliff edge’ of care means many young people suddenly at 16 have to manage bills and rental agreements, find work, and leave the support they’ve had through the foster system behind.
For lots of care experienced young people, that means trying to get sufficient Wi-Fi. Some young people can’t get broadband contracts at age 16 and many worry about being able to keep up with payments.
Bury Council supported 10 care leavers with Get Boxes, so that when they found a flat or a room they could get the connection they needed. Although other forms of community Wi-Fi or social tariffs are available, a big benefit is that the Get Box is portable - if and when a young person moves on they can take it with them to their new accommodation.
Individual support
Bury Council gave Alena* a Get Box and a laptop to support her and her family. Alena had been trying to study on her phone, but completing an English course online on a small screen was really difficult. Now she has the Get Box and a laptop, she can be on Teams calls where her teachers can see her and she can engage with the course material, and support her family.