Digital devices delight hard-pressed Melville tenants in Midlothian

Twenty-nine Midlothian households are better off to the tune of nearly £15,000 thanks to digital equipment and internet access sourced and distributed by Melville Housing Association.

Photo shows (left to right) Melville tenants Liz Coyle and Andrew Hiddleston.

As well as 14 new iPads and 14 new Chromebooks, the Connecting Scotland funding also paid for 16 MiFi boxes allowing two years unlimited access to the internet.

“I couldn’t believe it when Melville got in touch to offer me a Chromebook, it was like Christmas had come early,” said Melville tenant Andrew Hiddleston.

"This is a brilliant scheme and I’d just like to say a huge thank to everyone involved but especially to Melville for thinking of me.”

Melville, based in Dalkeith, had previously worked with Connecting Scotland on a number of initiatives including training staff as ‘digital champions’ to support people to use the internet confidently and safely.

“One thing the pandemic has shown us is the importance of digital services and having good, reliable access to the internet,” said John McMorrow, Melville chief executive.

“It’s fantastic to hear examples like this where, with the help of Connecting Scotland, we’ve been able to make a real difference.

"We’re now looking at other ways we can deliver even more services digitally while making sure that none of our customers are excluded. Funding like this really helps.”

Connecting Scotland is managed by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and was set up by the Scottish Government in order to get 60,000 digitally excluded households online.