How charities are reaching out to tech-averse service users

Use older technology

When it comes to delivering services to older people, an obvious solution is to use technology that elderly service users are more likely to be familiar with.

That’s the thinking behind Age UK’s Silver Line helpline and friendship service for people aged over 55. It uses a plain old telephone line to allow older people to call at any time of the day or night. It is a simple and elegant solution which uses the right technology for an audience which may be tech-averse.

Keep technology simple

Many potential service users may not have an expensive smartphone, but they may have some form of mobile phone at their disposal.

Young person’s charity The Mix is taking advantage of this fact to offer a free crisis messaging service using nothing more complex than text messages. Under 25s can text THEMIX to 85258 at any time to be connected with a councillor who can hold a conversation with them and support them by exchanging text messages.

An advantage of this system is that these text messages are free to send on most UK networks, so anyone in need of help can use the service without using up their phone credit.

Homelessness charity Next Meal has taken this approach a stage further with its app for homeless people who do have access to a smartphone even if they may not be overly tech-savvy. The app uses the phone’s GPS to find its own location, and can direct users to the nearest soup kitchen at the touch of a single button.

Avoid the need for technology entirely

A simple way to accommodate tech-averse service users is to remove the need for them to encounter technology entirely. This can be sometimes be achieved by the clever use of technology on the charity’s part.

A simple example of this provided by AgeUK: it offers a service to make online food orders on behalf of people who have no access to the internet themselves.

Food charity GROWing Links’ Street Food Project is slightly more complex. When vulnerable people are referred to the project, the charity itself uses technology such as emails, texts and Google Docs to manage its requirements, and Facebook Messenger groups to coordinate the service delivery teams to ensure that food is delivered to the people who need it. But the service users themselves have no need for any contact with this technology at all.

Perhaps the most innovative example of this approach is provided by a group of charities and other organisations in Sweden to help homeless people who have no access to technology when temperatures get dangerously low.

The group partnered with digital billboard company Clear Channel to get messages across: when the temperature dips below freezing, directions to the nearest shelter are displayed on 53 strategically selected digital marketing billboards, helping homeless people find warmth.