Refuge Network Expands Its Digital Device & Data Bank With Help From Good Things Foundation

Photo Credit: Faith, B.; Hernandez, K. and Beecher, J. (2022) 'Digital Poverty in the UK', IDS Policy Briefing 202.

Digital poverty is a situation where individuals or groups are constrained to live without or with only minimal access to the internet and digital technologies for connecting to it. According to the Digital Poverty Alliance, 'nearly 15m people in the UK have very low engagement with the internet – with 10m lacking the most basic skills in using a computer or the internet,' and research by Ofcom suggests that about 2 million households are struggling to cope with their internet bills.

Many of the people we work with are digitally excluded. Refuge Network has been supporting service users with free SIM cards and limited numbers of used mobile phones donated by our friends. With the help of some of our partners, including the Good Things Foundation, we have been given access to significant amounts of free mobile data from 02, Vodafone, Three networks and Giff Gaff.

This summer we are launching a more robust device and data bank alongside our food bank and clothes bank to promote digital inclusion. We invite you to throw your weight behind this important initiative. Anything you can donate in terms of old phones, tablets and laptops will go a long way towards strengthening this service and reducing the digital divide. Please, get in touch if you have anything to donate including damaged/faulty devices.