After some lived experience of homelessness, I have seen there are practical barriers for people who find it challenging to establish an internet connection to access essential services. I have learned that many do not have a suitable smart device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop, nor the ability to charge such things due to limited access to electricity.

This has become even more of a problem due to the closure of many public facilities such as libraries, shelters and other places that homeless people normally would use for thier computing and printing needs.

Often this group of potential service users are unable to report their difficulties due to the above practical restrictions and often limited means of electronic payment methods or technical knowledge needed for getting online. This leads to suffering and hardship, which I feel is avoidable with the right tools and support. Such as:

- Provision of SIM cards with unlimited 4G mobile data to people in need.

- Access to easy to use mobile devices such as tablets and laptops, as an alternative to using a library or internet cafe.

- Access to technical support and practical help with completing application forms via telephone or video-link.

I am willing to offer my technical support at no cost to key workers, healthcare providers and charitable organisations who require technical support or mobile computing equipment setup advice so that they can better interact with vulnerable or isolated people who need care and support, either in there own home, healthcare facility or homeless hostel.

I would like to help organisations transition thier traditional services into easily accessable online services, for example by eliminating the need to printing/scanning application documents, by helping them to author editable forms and web applications that can used by people without access to printing facilties to access services.

Also, I would like to make possible for homeless people to get connected to those in the community who can help with technical support such as:

- Help to obtain and use a 4G SIM card with unlimited data and free WiFi tethering.

- Help to obtain and use an affordable refurbished laptop or smart device.

- Help to use complex 'forgot password' mechanisms and login processes like those often found on government websites.

- Help with navigating and using online services.

- Help to setup and use a free email account and use cloud services such as Photos as an alternative to a scanner, for capturing images for identity or evidence documents needed for applications.

- Help with hardware or software issues such as fitting replacment parts or operating system updates.

- Help to edit and render DOCX into PDF documents and send emails with attachments, as an alternative to using a printer.

- Help to print blank or completed forms and get them to the right people for getting access to whatever essential support it is that they need.

My vision for the future is for everybody to be able to access government websites and other essential services, no matter if:

- They have technical knowledge or not

- If they are computer literate or not

- Have access to electricity or not

- They have a printer or not.

To achieve this, I would like everyone who is interested in helping to provide practical suggestions as to how to raise awareness, fund and organise this endevour.

In the meantime, if you think you can help a homeless person directly with your own resources (WiFi access, printing, etc) then I encourage you to do so!