Residents at Greenslopes House get connected!

Greenslopes House, is a Level 3 Supported Accommodation facility located in the inner-city suburb of Greenslopes. All the residents who are currently supported by Greenslopes House identify as having a disability and this equates to over 65 residents in total.

The AAA Digital Inclusion team, from Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN), joined forces with the manager of the service to ‘get the residents connected’. The residents came along to an informal information session and embraced the idea of getting online and their were many comments heard of “at long last I can get online and find out what is happening”.

Intake assessments and conversations were had with residents who were interested and eligible. All three members of QDN staff were kept busy as each resident was assessed about how a digital device of some description could help them get connected and stay up to date during an emergency. Collaboration with local agencies is an essential element for the success of this project and consequently we were able to conduct 19 intakes and assessments in 3 hours.

A lot of the residents were very excited about the QDN team being there. They asked clarifying questions around the Digital Inclusion Project. It was an engaging process that meant the Project Officers were able to understand each participant's story and therefore the kind of device and support that they needed.

It was clear that the residents were extremely grateful for the opportunity to get connected and were thankful for the project.

A lot of participants expressed willingness to get back into work, study and connection once they are back online.

“I was delighted to receive a device, with Brisbane having a bad storm season this year I was left feeling vulnerable. I couldn’t receive those emergency texts that everyone seems to get. Now I do, the team at QDN even showed me how to set them up”, Andy, Greenslopes House resident.

The organisation was grateful for the project and what it meant for the Greenslopes House residents with the manager commenting that it has renewed their energy and confidence.