Helping the Depression Alliance to Smile Again

We can all feel low and a bit depressed from time to time as a result of experiences that are upsetting, stressful or difficult, in most cases these feelings will pass but for those with depression they can be intense and persistent.

Those who suffer from depression are more than just sad or upset, they are suffering from an illness, with feelings of constant sadness, helplessness and hopelessness accompanied by physical symptoms such as sleeplessness, loss of energy and physical aches and pains.

Add to this the stigma attached to depression and the lack of accurate information available about the condition, and you see just how vital it is for sufferers to have someone to turn to.

The Depression Alliance provides just this, as the leading UK charity for people affected by depression, it works to provide information and support services via its quarterly magazine, pen friend scheme and network of self help groups. One of the key things the organisation provides is a very effective website, including a DA chat room.

The organisation was founded in 1970 and at its peak employed 15 staff, but following an internal re-organisation a few years ago the charity downsized considerably to reduce central administrative costs. Depression Alliance is now in the process of re-building itself and Emer O'Neill joined the organisation as Chief Executive and the only permanent member of staff in February 2007 and immediately identified that in order for the organisation to grow, an IT audit was required.

"When I took over I realised that our IT systems were weak, our server was struggling to cope and we were unhappy with the IT support we were receiving. As a growing organisation I realised the need to address this and find out the capacity of our existing systems, whether or not we needed to update our hardware and if so, how much this would cost."

Having heard of iT4Communities, an organisation that matches professional IT volunteers with not-for-profit organisations, O'Neil realised this was the solution she needed and contacted iT4C in June 2007. She was particularly impressed with its prompt response, "They got back to me really quickly and were really polite, helpful and informative," she says, "In short it was a really nice company to deal with."

iT4C talked through the issues with Emer then posted a project definition on its website calling for volunteers with the IT skills required to undertake the audit. Within a month, Ian Rumford, made contact with Emer, saying that he would be delighted to offer his services to the organisation.

Rumford visited Depression Alliance's head quarters in London and spent about six days in total assessing the charity's IT needs. "As Ian also had a full time job, he preferred to carry out the work on weekends, and would come in first thing on a Saturday and work right through," explains Emer.

Rumford identified some problems for the charity that were really quite serious, "Our server was on the verge of collapse and our emergency disk was not working so if we were to have a problem we would have lost an awful lot of information," explains Emer.

Not only did Rumford carry out an audit but once completed he then went out and got the software required to rectify the problems and installed it. In addition, he is also acting as IT support for the charity. "During Ian's time here we raised our concerns with regards to our existing IT support and he assured us that we were right to be worried. Since then he has made himself available to us as an on going support facility free of charge, which obviously, has saved us a great deal of money," explains Emer.

In terms of the other benefits the Depression Alliance has seen as a result of the work carried out by iT4C, Emer says, "It has really improved practical things such as increasing the capacity of the server and cleaning up all of our computers so that the organisation as a whole runs much more smoothly and efficiently.

"This is something that has been noticed by the other staff here at Depression Alliance, who have also commented that it has made a difference to the way they work and that Ian could not have been more helpful," says Emer.

In terms of her overall impression of iT4C, Emer enthuses, "I thought it was an excellent service and really efficient. Ian was a really skilled IT consultant and was exactly what the organisation needed. Since the initial audit was completed iT4C has phoned us a few times to follow up and see if there is anything else they can do for us. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend iT4C to any other charities or organisations in a similar position. Just as with depression sufferers, there are those out there that are willing to lend a helping hand in difficult times, all you need to do is ask."

27th February 2008