The Wayside Day Centre

The Wayside Day Centre, a drop-in centre for people affected by homelessness in central Glasgow, recently requested help to find a volunteer to replace the IT training that had previously been offered by staff of the local college. These sessions were very popular and to lose them would have a negative effect for service users. Within a week of advertising to iT4Communities volunteers, two people had indicated an interest in volunteering at the Wayside, both of whom had considerable computer experience.

One of the volunteers, Graeme, said: "I recognise the benefit of digital technology and I wanted to make use of what I've learned. A lot of people who come in here, need support in using computers, and I'm interested in helping them." Graeme supports service users to search for local information, investigate family history and develop creative writing skills.

Frances of The Wayside is delighted that she has two specifically recruited IT volunteers as this means that more individualised support can be offered by people who have in-depth knowledge and experience. She said, "Our service would be the poorer without them".

3rd September 2007