Rehomed laptops are benefiting registered clients of homelessness organisations participating in the Laptops for Homeless Support Initiative who are moving into accommodation and on their way of getting their lives back on track. Those looking for a laptops need to register with one of the participating charities.
SocialBox.Biz, a digital inclusion and laptop donation platform, will redistribute the items through qualifying charity partners.
The clients of these charities receive access to free e-learning resources and free pop up training classes from SocialBox.biz to learn how to use basic open source software to perform tasks required at typical office jobs, such as creating documents, sending email, and using the internet. These new job skills not only help vulnerable people find long-term careers — they also allow individuals to stay in touch with relatives and friends, shop for basic needs and keep up with the news.
Homelessness services provided by participating charities include accommodation, mentoring, jobs clubs training and other valuable support.
The launch event in Camden Town London on 24th February 2016 was first of many upcoming hand-overs of laptops.
Laptops for Homeless support Initiative official website:
https://www.socialbox.biz/homeless-support/
Some Further Facts and Figures Behind Homelessness in London And How Access To Technology Can Help
Local agencies are reporting that ‘The number of people sleeping rough over the course of the year has more than doubled in London since 2010/11, increasing from 3,975 to 8,108 in 2016/17.’
So over 8,000 people currently sleep on the streets of London. Their backgrounds, religions, ages, and races cover every category. Even more heartbreaking, many of them want to find work, but have no way to access the digital world of today. Research indicates that about 62% of single homeless people are hidden and may not show up in official figures.
What is often overlooked is the group of hidden homeless – there are 400,000 people homeless in one sense or another within the UK .
Homelessness could happen to anyone. Most of the time, homeless individuals did not choose homelessness – rather, a catastrophic event in their lives catapulted them toward living on the streets. These individuals are 13 times more likely to be victims of violent crime, and 47 times more likely to be victims of theft. There needs to be a ladder for these disenfranchised members of society to climb.
Computers are a vital resource to survival today. Without access to one, you are as good as forgotten. An estimated two million working laptops and computers are replaced in the UK every single year. These no longer needed but still useful devices need to be donated to unemployed, homeless people eager to rejoin society.
That’s where SocialBox.Biz comes into the picture. A social enterprise that recently launched a “Laptops for Homeless Support Initiative,” SocialBox.Biz is closing the gap between wasted resources and people in need. Their business model is focused on social impact over profit gains, and they are working hard to re-home disused laptops and providing training to disadvantage people.
Barely any companies today accept paper resumes. Everything is electronic. Updates, information, tools, and resources are all available on the Internet. SocialBox.Biz realised this and are working hard to improve the lives of thousands. More businesses should follow their example and set aside profit gains for helping the starving individuals sleeping on the cold streets.
We had emergency blankets, sleeping bags, gloves, hats, food and lists of local outreach and other services and a senior probation services manager with us with passion to help those who need it the most on one of the coldest nights in London.
If you are a board member or a CIO of a UK based company and would like to build up your Environmental Social Governance ( ESG ) to participate with your no longer needed but still useful lap tops and other items please Contact Us
Solving #corpgov #esg #sdg #tech problems for #boards #ceo #cio #uk #london with practical social impact.
500 Laptop Update (March 2019)
1000 laptops milestone to support homeless and disadvantaged people
Some testimonials and comments received shortly after the launch:
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The program that he talked about using is called Breaking Free Online, which is a computer assisted therapy (which uses CBT and Mindfulness techniques for individuals to work on their recovery in their own time, as well as improving their IT skills. Mark is helping others to use it here on Wednesday and Friday mornings as part of our learning program, as well as aiding with his own recovery, which is another reason the laptop is useful for him.
Great idea,
I hope this helps people to find a job and integrate back into a normal everyday life. No one should be homeless in this country these days.
These people have actually paid into the system for years and through some misfortune have found themselves in this position.
Good idea, nice to see a company in the news for doing something decent
I think that this is a fantastic initiative, anything that helps homeless people rebuild their lives is a good thing.
Having been homeless 25 years ago any help and advice is appreciated. It’s a really hard place to get out from, but it’s very possible and any help is appreciated.
Homelessness is often linked with gradual process of de-socialisation and stigmatisation.
It is often irreversible and permanently destructive. Anything which might help to reverse homelessness is worthy trying…
Anything that brings joy and comfort to those less fortunate is a positive!, Steve Jobs did after all want to bring computing to the masses, hope it betters their lives in some way!
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