The Role of Get Box in Scotland’s Homelessness Services

Simon Community are a major provider of homelessness services across Scotland. Internet access is a key part of their work and the digital inclusion team has partnered with Jangala to distribute Get Boxes. The team knows that getting their clients internet access is vital to support their wellbeing.

“If our clients have nothing to do, then boredom, loneliness, isolation, all become quite a major thing for them. And that can lead to them going down the wrong road, looking for things to fill their time that may be damaging, that may impact their health, whether it be drugs or alcohol or gambling. We feel it's so important for people to have those outlets when they're in those four walls.”

Internet access is  also important for education, employment, and addressing mental health challenges. A large number of people in Simon Community work with experience issues with their mental health on a daily basis and it’s clear that internet access can alleviate some of that. 

“The stories that have really stood out to us are the ones where people say, I’ve managed, I can chat to family and friends, I can listen to my favourite music, I can watch YouTube, I can play games. It’s those things we often take for granted that really start to help them feel home is home.”  

Sometimes having the internet helps with in-person interactions. Tyler* is separated from his partner and was struggling when his 12 year old daughter came to visit. They didn’t have much to do together. Now he has a Get Box, she shows him what she’s doing at school and they listen to music together. Since having internet access, the quality of their visits have really improved. 

Some people use the internet to help build their future and keep their spirits up in difficult times. Kabir* is seeking leave to remain, having travelled to the UK from India. He’s got a Masters in quantum mechanics and he’s using Get Box to read research papers in preparation for doing his PhD. Being able to study is helping him stay positive. 

Since working with Jangala, the 20 Get Boxes they’ve given out have got 22 people online, who otherwise might have struggled to get an internet connection. 

*names and key details have been changed

Context

The digital inclusion team at Simon Community Scotland started out in April 2022 to support 500 people. They’ve since supported 1600 people facing homelessness across Glasgow, Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire and Perth. As one of the major providers of homelessness services in the area, their big challenge was to improve people’s health and wellbeing with the use of digital. Most of what they do is one-to-one, intensive support, using digital as an enabler.

“Very rarely do we use digital as the driver. We use all of the other things going on in people's lives and then see how digital can help them.” - Simon Community Scotland

For the digital inclusion team, there’s no one size fits all. They’re aiming to support people with the most appropriate device and the most appropriate connection. That means using a range of options, like SIM cards, social tariffs, Mi-Fi units, and Jangala’s Get Box. 

They’ve found the Jangala Get Box works best where affordability and accommodation instability are a barrier to someone getting online. Sometimes social tariffs are hard to secure, because of eligibility or upselling. And sometimes they’re too expensive. 

“The barriers were affordability, because even £15…was out of people's reach.” - Simon Community Scotland

Likewise, SIM cards are great but don’t always work well for clients with multiple devices.  Tethering can drop off , which becomes frustrating, and using a hotspot regularly can put strain on the phone battery, hardware from overheating or the data allowance.  

“A SIM card is not always suitable because as they want to do more and more, it puts too much pressure on it. And it’s functionally quite difficult because they’ve got to try and tether everything on their phone, and things drop off, and it causes frustrations.”

Where Get Box is valuable to the Simon Community is where it’s helping people get online in a new place or situation. They like that Get Box is user-friendly, plug and play, and gets people online straight away.

“But actually what [Get Box] does do is it just gives us another option which is by far the easiest option to connect people that haven't been connected before.” - Simon Community Scotland

Simon Community know that sometimes, especially with high data needs, fixed line broadband is more suitable. But for people who don’t have clear connectivity options, the Get Box is a great opportunity to connect and start to explore. 

The team have recently been giving out Get Boxes alongside refurbished chromebooks, which is part of a scheme with Adobe. For people exploring learning and employment opportunities, this means they can get a suitable device and get online straightaway. 

For the team at Simon Community, internet access and a device are essential.

“We're not trying to do anything particularly wonderful. We're just trying to give people what we feel they deserve and they need.” - Simon Community Scotland