City West Housing residents aged 60 and over and First Nations residents who are 50 and over wanting to improve their digital literacy are invited to join an exciting new program.
As part of our Ageing in Place initiative, this free program is designed to empower older residents with essential digital skills, while fostering intergenerational connections.
City West Housing has partnered with Youngster.co to provide personalised tech help to residents, taught by a local young person.
Benefits of the program
The program pairs older residents with a young person who has been trained by Youngster.co. Participants receive one-on-one guidance. During the sessions, the resident will work with a Youngster to figure out what they would like to learn. This could be anything from using digital devices, to sending emails, video chatting with family, or navigating Google Maps, and more.
The sessions ensure residents can learn at their own pace and focus on what matters most to them.
City West Housing resident Katrina and her partner Graham have so far had over 12 sessions.
Katrina said that in today’s digital age it is important that all members of our community feel confident using technology, particularly older people.
“The Youngster tech help program has been absolutely wonderful,” Katrina said.
“More older residents should be encouraged to participate in this program because everything is online now. The program is a great opportunity to learn new skills – and it’s free! Digital skills will allow you to do things for yourself, rather than having to rely on others to do it for you. And being tech savvy in your senior years will be a huge help when dealing with declining health.”
Young mentors needed
City West Housing is also looking for young residents aged 18-25 interested in being trained by Younster.co to deliver these sessions.
Older residents will not only gain vital digital skills, but our young residents will also develop their leadership and communication abilities and get paid to deliver sessions, all whilst creating valuable connections between generations.
Once trained up, young mentors could deliver sessions at the City West Housing office, a cafe, library or at the resident’s home.
More information
Contact Amanda Zhong, Community Engagement Officer, if you have any questions, or if you would like to register for the program. Ring (02) 8584 7500 or email amanda.zhong@citywesthousing.com.au.
