Practical digital inclusion support in trusted community settings

EmpowerNet builds on a client-led digital inclusion model delivered through trusted day hubs, combining devices, connectivity and tailored support.

This site brings together learning and practical resources to help organisations working in homelessness and similar settings adapt and replicate what works.

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EmpowerNet at a glance

  • EmpowerNet builds on a client-led digital inclusion model originally developed by Turning Tides in West Sussex. Since 2020, the model has supported hundreds of people through tailored devices, connectivity and practical digital support in trusted community settings.

    Through EmpowerNet, the model has been strengthened, independently evaluated and extended across additional Stonepillow hubs in Bognor and Chichester, generating structured evidence and a replication toolkit to support wider adoption.

    The project is led by the University of Sussex in partnership with Turning Tides, Stonepillow and Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, and funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.

  • Digital exclusion can make it harder to access housing, healthcare, benefits, employment and everyday support. For people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, these barriers often go beyond digital skills alone and include access to a suitable device, affordable connectivity, charging, privacy, trust, confidence and ongoing support. As more essential services move online, being excluded digitally can deepen existing disadvantage and make it harder for people to navigate systems, stay connected and move forward.

    At the same time, there are still relatively few practical resources to help organisations design, deliver and sustain digital inclusion support in homelessness and similar settings.

  • EmpowerNet is most relevant to organisations supporting adults experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity and related forms of disadvantage. This includes charities, day hubs, housing and homelessness services, local authorities, health and care partners, and other community-based organisations working with people who may face multiple and overlapping barriers to digital access. It may also be useful to practitioners, commissioners, researchers and others interested in practical approaches to digital inclusion in trusted community settings.

  • The model combines access to appropriate devices and connectivity with tailored support around real-life digital tasks. This might include help with setting up a phone, accessing benefits or housing-related services, using the NHS App, staying in touch with support workers, or building confidence with everyday online tasks. It is rooted in trusted relationships, flexible support and practical problem-solving, rather than one-size-fits-all digital skills delivery. The emphasis is on meeting people where they are, responding to immediate needs, and recognising that meaningful digital inclusion often depends on ongoing encouragement and follow-up as much as on the device itself.

  • Organisations can use EmpowerNet to understand the model, explore practical resources, and reflect on which elements might transfer into their own setting. This includes thinking about how digital inclusion support can be embedded within existing services, what role trusted relationships play, how staff or volunteers can be supported to deliver practical help, and what infrastructure is needed around devices, connectivity and follow-up support.

    The learning can also help organisations assess what is likely to be realistic within their own context, capacity and client group. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all blueprint, EmpowerNet is intended to support adaptation: helping organisations identify the principles, delivery features and practical tools that could strengthen their own approach. It may be useful both for organisations looking to start a digital inclusion offer and for those wanting to refine or scale support they already provide.

Voices from the field

  • “You need technology when you're homeless, yeah, even to go onto your Universal Credit, get your benefits, sign in through an app. If you've got no technology, that's a barrier… I used to go to doctors and ask for an appointment and they say, ‘No, you've got phone up’… it makes life very hard just to do the simplest things.” (Client)

  • “I’ve got to keep myself busy… I’d be at home watercolour painting or crocheting or sewing or doing something, but nothing that I could earn a living. As you see now, this is the difference. Having this laptop, I could become a published author. I could write a novel. I could become financially stable… I could have a career… if I never would have got it, it never could happen.” (Client)

  • “Digital inclusion just fits into the wider support. It's not like a separate or add on.” (Digital Champion)

  • "With the phones and the laptops… they can start seeing forwards… They're just so absorbed by where they are right now, [they] can't see past that.” (Digital Champion)

  • “I feel very proud… I feel I've joined the real world… now I'm confident to say I've got an email.” (Client)

  • “It's not about the devices, it's about the time that we can spend learning with them” (Digital Champion)

Core principles of the model

The EmpowerNet model is shaped by a set of practical principles drawn from frontline delivery and replication in trusted community settings. These principles are intended to help organisations understand what is core to the approach and what should be preserved when adapting it locally.

  • Support starts with what matters to the person - not a fixed curriculum or pre-set pathway. Trust, encouragement and a sense of belonging are central to effective support.

  • The model is designed to avoid shame, judgement and disempowerment. It makes space for different starting points, learning styles and paces, and treats not knowing as normal.

  • Support is shaped by real-world tasks and real-world barriers. The model assumes problems will arise and responds flexibly, learning through practice and adapting over time.

  • The right support depends on the person’s goals, living situation, accessibility needs and current risks. Devices and connectivity are matched to context, not simply preference.

  • Digital inclusion is not treated as a separate IT service. It is woven into wider support around housing, health, recovery, safety and day-to-day stability.

  • The model builds on trusted relationships, links to wider resources where useful, and sees digital inclusion as a means to wider participation, confidence and wellbeing.

  • The goal is not simply to make people “more digital”, but to help them access what matters: services, recovery, confidence, connection, stability and wellbeing.

Explore resources

A range of practical resources developed through EmpowerNet will be available here by the end of March 2026.

A practical guide to the model, including core principles, delivery considerations and prompts for local adaptation.

Practical documents, examples and supporting materials that can help organisations get started or refine their approach.

Key reflections from delivery, replication and evaluation.

Slides, recordings and materials from showcases, webinars and shared learning events.

The EmpowerNet partnership

EmpowerNet was developed through a partnership bringing together frontline delivery, replication, evaluation and practical learning for wider adoption.

Turning Tides

Jacqui Wells, Russell Gallacher

Developed and delivered the original digital inclusion model in West Sussex, providing the frontline practice that underpins EmpowerNet model.

Stonepillow

Ellie Vigneault, Chloe Neilson-Hopkins

Replicated and tested the model in Bognor and Chichester, helping identify what could be transferred, adapted and strengthened in new service contexts.

University of Sussex

Dr Maja Golf-Papez, Dr Matilde Lucheschi

Led project coordination, codification of the model, and the evidence and evaluation work that informed the toolkit and wider learning.

Health Innovation KSS

Jenny Brooks, Becca Randell

Supported codification, evaluation, learning and dissemination, helping strengthen the model’s transferability and wider relevance.

Get in Touch

Interested in the model, resources or future collaboration? We would be pleased to hear from you.