Trends and Friends: Access, use and benefits of digital technology for homeless and ex-homeless people
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Executive summary<br />
Groundswell peer research<br />
Based on two focus groups with <strong>people</strong> currently <strong>ex</strong>periencing <strong>homeless</strong>ness, the peer<br />
research <strong>and</strong> advocacy organisation Groundswell devised a questionnaire <strong>of</strong> 54 key<br />
statements that reflected the range <strong>of</strong> <strong>people</strong>’s usage, attitudes <strong>and</strong> aspirations concerning<br />
<strong>digital</strong> <strong>technology</strong>. 166 questionnaires were completed by five Groundswell peer researchers.<br />
Alongside this quantitative data, the Groundswell peer researchers also collected more<br />
general comments at the end <strong>of</strong> their interviews.<br />
The total number <strong>of</strong> <strong>people</strong> interviewed <strong>for</strong> this report - either by completing the<br />
Lemos&Crane questionnaire or the Groundswell peer research - was 319. Twenty-two<br />
additional <strong>people</strong> took part in the Groundswell focus groups.<br />
<strong>Access</strong> <strong>and</strong> usage<br />
Devices <strong>use</strong>d<br />
Far from the stereotype <strong>of</strong> <strong>people</strong> unable or unwilling to engage in <strong>technology</strong>, the majority<br />
<strong>of</strong> respondents <strong>use</strong>d <strong>digital</strong> <strong>technology</strong> in the <strong>for</strong>m <strong>of</strong> mobile or smart phones <strong>and</strong> internet<br />
access. Ninety-five per cent <strong>of</strong> Lemos&Crane respondents either <strong>use</strong>d <strong>digital</strong> <strong>technology</strong><br />
or <strong>ex</strong>pressed an interest in doing so. Among Lemos&Crane respondents 91% had a working<br />
phone, <strong>of</strong> which 46% had a smart phone <strong>and</strong> 9% owned a Blackberry. Of Groundswell’s<br />
respondents 87% had a phone, 32% had a smart phone <strong>and</strong> 6% had a Blackberry. Laptops,<br />
desktop computers <strong>and</strong> tablets were less common, but a significant proportion (39%) <strong>of</strong><br />
respondents owned at least one <strong>of</strong> these devices.<br />
Internet access<br />
Regular <strong>and</strong> frequent internet access was common among respondents, but access was<br />
also problematic. Forty-six per cent <strong>of</strong> the Lemos&Crane respondents said they went online<br />
nearly every day or every day <strong>and</strong> 81% went online at least once a week. This is lower than<br />
the comparable figure <strong>for</strong> the general population. Twenty-six per cent <strong>of</strong> the Groundswell<br />
respondents, a lower proportion, said they went online nearly or every day, 27% said they<br />
never went online <strong>and</strong> 10% did so only rarely. Forty-two per cent <strong>of</strong> respondents spent<br />
between 1 <strong>and</strong> 3 hours online in a single session. Although respondents go online slightly less<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten than the general population, they do not spend significantly less time online per session.<br />
3
Change language