Get Online Week: Voluntary Action Epping Forest
As part of #GetOnlineWeek, we are thrilled to highlight the incredible contributions of Voluntary Action Epping Forest (VAEF)!
Voluntary Action Epping Forest is an independent charity supporting local residents and non-profits for over 30 years. It helps charities and community groups reach their full potential, offering services like gardening, handyman support, and befriending to improve well-being.
For over three decades, VAEF has been a cornerstone of support for local residents and non-profits, making a significant impact in our community. Join us as we explore their vital initiatives and the positive changes they continue to bring to Epping Forest.
What is your organisation called?
Voluntary Action Epping Forest (VAEF)
What does your organisation do?
VAEF are a community and voluntary sector infrastructure organisation and registered charity that provide support and services to residents and groups/third sector partner organisations within Epping Forest. Our work includes:
* PowerUP! digital inclusion programme
* ACE Activities disability inclusion project
* Senior Befriending groups
* Benefits Advice
* Community Handyman service
* Asylum Seeker cultural integration programme
* Third sector networking, newsletters and guidance/advice
How does your work benefit the community?
Each service that VAEF provides are aimed at supporting local residents and community groups/organisations that also support local residents. In particular, VAEF services seek to benefit those in the Epping Forest who are most impacted by the disadvantages of: low income, disability, age, social isolation and physical or mental health.
In relation to our PowerUP! digital inclusion programme, specifically, the service provides benefit to the local community by:
* providing digital hardware to low-income families/households
* providing SIM data to low-income families/households
* providing digital support, via skills workshops/courses
* providing digital support, via walk-in 1-2-1 hub surgeries
* providing CV and job-searching coaching for DWP claimants
* providing digital champion training for volunteers and community members/stakeholders
What do the different members of your team do, and how does their work link together?
VAEF's PowerUP! programme sits within our wider Community Response Hub team, which also provide a number of outreach support services to local residents. Much of our work is place-based, within multi-agency localities - supporting us to both make and receive referrals into other voluntary and statutory services.
Our digital skills workshops and walk-in surgeries are run by a small team and supported by Digital Champion volunteers.
We work particularly closely with external agencies, including DWP and Primary Care teams to provide digital support to those who need it most - particularly in areas of employment and health impact.
How does your work combat digital exclusion?
The PowerUP! programme seeks to combat digital exclusion by providing digital data, devices, skills and support to residents who are living without regular and reliable online connectivity, or personal confidence/ability to fully engage with the online world.
In order to do this, we place an emphasis on outreach/engagement work within rural communities and areas of greater economic deprivation and elderly population.
We also work closely with the local authority and other strategic partners to support joined-up working and provision.
Do you have any examples of how your digital support has helped a local resident?
We have recent case examples where our providing donated digital hardware to clients and digital support has led to employment outcomes.
We were also recently able to help a client who attended a walk-in digital support surgery reduce their car insurance and phone bills by over £350, by shopping online.
Many service users who have attended workshops or walk-in surgeries on more than one occasion have reported personal improvements in their digital skills, confidence and competencies that have led to an improved quality of life and independence.
VAEF's leaflet.
What demographic of people do you work with?
While offering digital support for people of all ages and backgrounds; through our referrals/partnerships and place-based service provision, we are able to work most closely with persons who are: long-term unemployed, are over 65 and living in sheltered or supported accommodation or are living with a long-term health condition.
What are your plans for the future, and how do you plan to expand?
Our PowerUP! programme is currently funded until March 2025. We hope to be able to continue providing each of the different strands of the service beyond this time frame, and to co-produce and deliver new, future programmes of work, centred around positive health and employment outcomes, through digital enablement.
Why are you passionate about your role?
We are passionate about digital and our PowerUP! programme because we see in the faces/feedback of service users how impactful digital learning and confidence can be.
We see, first hand, how liberating learning a new digital skill, or overcoming a specific digital barrier, often is, in relation to peoples' individual, day-to-day life.
Can you give any examples of your challenges or successes?
A big challenge for us is to help supported digital learners sometimes reassess their personal outlook and relationship with the digital world. We want service users to see the personal benefits of engaging with online platforms and tasks outweigh the personal risks and disincentives. From this motivated position, a journey towards personal learner success begins!
To find out more about VAEF, visit their website at www.vaef.org.uk or contact info@vaef.org.uk